Love is not passive but rather active in every sense. Love must be expressed in order for it to be fully received. Imagine loving someone for years and never telling them while hoping the whole time that they will somehow figure it out. Unconditional love is intentional, you have to consciously decide that you want to love someone in spite of and despite of what might happen.
True love is more than just loving another person when he or she randomly comes to mind. Rather, it is a commitment to continually remind the people in our lives that we care. To love intentionally is to love deliberately. It is a choice to put others before ourselves, to be selfless.
Intentional love shows the people in our lives that we care. It is a beautiful act of commitment to regularly and purposefully put another person before ourselves.
People remember our actions: good and bad. When we choose to love intentionally, we choose to actively show another person that they matter; we place value on others over ourselves. When we value others, they are more likely to live up to that value and to, in turn, place that value on the people in their own circle of influence. Our small choices to love a few have the potential to lead to a vast, lasting impact on many.
Intentional love is powerful. It changes lives. It opens hearts and breaks down walls. It allows the people in our lives to feel authentically cared for.
I challenge you to make the choice to be intentional. It might be hard. It might be uncomfortable. It might stretch you emotionally or financially or physically. It might mean dying to yourself a bit and looking beyond your own needs.
But it also might spark a chain reaction. Your choice to love with purpose might cause another person to love with purpose, and so on.
Mother Teresa once said, "We can cure physical diseases with medicine, but the only cure for loneliness, despair, and hopelessness is love. There are many in the world who are dying for a piece of bread, but there are many more dying for a little love."
Give the people in your life that little bit of intentional love. They're hungry for it!
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