In each of our lives, we have every element present for a divine love story—the Lover, the lover’s pursuit with undying love, insurmountable odds against love’s fulfillment, the enemy of love as the villain against love, love’s struggle to overcome, and the possibility of love’s victory. All the basic elements of a perfect love story are present in each of our lives. Knowing this, we may look at our lives a little differently. Momentous struggles can be acknowledged as simply obstacles to love, all the while still being part of the love story.
Obstacles Make a Love Story
Amazingly, it’s the obstacle to any love that makes a love story. Think about our famous love stories: Romeo and Juliet, Elizabeth Bennett and Darcy, Jane Eyre and Rochester, the list goes on and on. Every good love story has an obstacle to love’s satisfaction. And for me, this makes my struggles fascinating. No, I probably don’t celebrate them, but now I see them in a different light. The sting of my struggles is lessened because they’re contained in a love story and actually a part of it. We never appreciate things just handed to us; we need a conflict to build the anticipation and make things interesting. Odd creatures, aren’t we?
In searching for the elements of any love story, this is what I found on the web. See if they’re true in your life:
- A hero and a heroine fall in love.
- A problem arises that creates conflict and tension between them and it threatens to keep them apart.
- The promise of their love is so special that it’s irresistible.
- There’s a resolution in which the problem is solved and the couple is united.
It’s intriguing: desire, action, conflict (obstacles), change. This being said, few there be that will find it, or even recognize it, but its there nonetheless.
Love Story by God
Because The Lover created our Universe, the overshadowing story of our world is a love story. And because He’s omnipotent, there can be many individual love stories making up The One Love story. Each of our lives is a love story between Jesus (the Hero) and us (His Bride). He is the Lover pursuing us with undying love. The insurmountable odds that threaten to keep us apart is our fallenness. Satan, the enemy of love, plots and schemes to prevent our union. Jesus brought the solution and eliminated the barrier. The solution is Him. He’s the resolution to our problem. We are to be united.
So many things stand between our Love and us. Even His own love letters to us can be used against us, preventing us from loving. If we read His Word with any other motives than love, it’s death and a law. The Word and this life are a Love story between Christ and His Bride. This is not a sickeningly sweet, sappy, sentimental emotion-fest but a true story of LOVE. It isn’t theoretical; it is real and present in every aspect of our lives.
I am my Beloved’s, and His desire is toward me.
Song of Songs 7:10 ESV
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One day it was shown to me that the Father sees us with eyes of love and that He sees the fear that keeps us from His unconditional love. He doesn’t see us through the eyes of fear that keeps us doubting His love. He only see us with perfect love and knows that His perfect love overcomes all the obstacles of fear. It makes it easier to just walk right through every obstacle and lie.
It never ceases to undo me when I am reminded that God is the one pursuing me. It is difficult to imagine. It brings with it a touch of hope and gentleness that cracks through my own struggle thinking that I am pursuing Him and He cannot be found. This too hit a cord, “Even His own love letters to us can be used against us, preventing us from loving. If we read His Word with any other motives than love, it’s death and a law.” Just remembering that the lens of my life’s experiences are a tainted way to… Read more »
few there be that will find it, or even recognize it, but its there nonetheless. This is an amazing statement in itself, and the reasons are plentiful.
There is nothing I can do but weep through this post. I just never thought about how every good love story has the element of the obstacles that try to keep the lovers apart. Thank you.
JOHN, thank you bless you for sharing this precious love story. These posts have opened my eyes to my story and the truth of HIS love and care of me . “The insurmountable odds that threaten to keep me apart is my fallenness” and the enemies desire to derail me.
Truth that shines forth is that HE loved the world enough to make a way, make all provision necessary:”We are to be united” LOVE