It’s that time of year for Dr. Hope’s Seven Days of Love.

Day 1: Love is perfect. So you may be thinking “How is Love perfect? There is no such thing as a perfect Love.” When I look back on life, I may ask myself the same question. How is love perfect when people…me…and you are so imperfect? We mess up, make mistakes, and are disappointed time and time again by those we so called “Love” or those who so called “Loved us”. Then I reflect a little harder, and when I look past all of the flawed people in my life (me included) and I see a Man that is flawless…a Man that never changes…a Man that has always been consistent and always shows up at the right place and the right time in my life. This Man is the definition of perfect…the definition of love…and the definition of Perfect Love. For those of you who haven’t figured it out yet…God is Love…and God is Perfect. If we strive to love others and ourselves the way He loves us we will always be satisfied. Stop looking for flawed people to love you the way that only a Perfect Man can.

Day 2: Love is fearless. 1 John 4:18 says “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” Have you ever been in a situation where you experienced feelings of fear, anxiety, insecurity, distress, or worry to the point of utter torment?! If so, those feelings are not products of Love. Love is fearless…it brings comfort, security, and peace. If you have been captivated by fear and worry, then I want to remind you that God’s Perfect Love can remove any fear and calm any troubled heart. Examine your situation, are you experiencing anxiety because you are trying to take control and you haven’t allowed God to take control over your life? Only God can put your fears to rest. Trust Him…Seek Him…put Him First. He desires for your heart to rejoice and be at peace. Don’t allow such situations to have power of your life. True love is fearless…and true love lies within Christ.

Day 3: Love knows no boundaries. What are you willing to do for those you love? Are you willing to cross all boundaries? Are you willing to give everything you got?Are you willing to do whatever it takes? If the answer is not yes, then you may want to reevaluate your level of love for those around you. True Love goes the extra mile, climbs mountains, and defies all odds. When circumstances say no, True Love says Yes! The greatest Demonstrator of love was willing to pay the ultimate sacrifice for those He loved. He loved to the point of death. Christ died for us all…friends, enemies, and strangers…because He loved. There are very few people I’m willing to die for…so I guess I got a lot more love growing to do! But having Christ as that example challenges me to learn to love greater, love deeper, and ultimately love with everything I got.

Day 4: Love is Universal. Whether you are in Dubai, Italy, Jamaica, China, or Mexico the language of love is still the same. How do you say I love you? By giving, caring, forgiving, and treating others with respect. No matter what language you speak, God created the language of love to connect every human being together as one. The greatest commandment of the bible is for us to love our neighbors, love our God, and love ourselves. This week let us practice the universal language of love wherever we go. No matter how much our enemies may hate us, they desire someone to love them too.

Day 5: Love Forgives. Have you ever been betrayed, abused, wronged, or disrespected? How did it make you feel? I know when people have done me wrong, I felt hurt, angry, or sometimes even bitter. The thought of that person would cause my blood to boil with unpleasant emotions. Sometimes this feeling would go on for months and even sometimes years! But what I didn’t know at the time was that the more anger and hurt that I kept bottled up inside against particular individuals, the less I was able to experience true peace and joy in my life. Unforgiveness is like a poisonous cancer. It starts out as a small offense and then continues to grow and destroys everything in its path…including your heart. The next thing you realize is that the person who offended you has moved on with their life while you are still stuck in the past of yesterday’s hurt. True Love is the exact opposite of unforgiveness, hate, pride, anger and bitterness. You can’t truly love somebody and hold unforgiveness against them at the same time. There is no perfect man that exists on this earth, yet still Christ died for us all…even after knowing that we would wrong Him time and time again. Take the time to reflect and ask yourself if you are holding a past offense against someone…if so, ask God to help you forgive them. Or maybe you’re the one that was the offender and maybe YOU need to ASK for forgiveness. Whichever one it is, once you take that step, I guarantee that you will begin to experience a more meaningful and peaceful life.

Day 6: Love Never Gives Up. Have you ever seen a mother whose child has been caught up in the wrong crowd? Whether it be violence, drugs, or rebellion…that mother will swear that her son or daughter is a good child. No matter how many times that child ends up in the court room, that mother is always there…right by their side. Now evvverybody else knows that Lil Johnny is crazy and deserves to be locked up…but not Mama…she still has faith in her little boy. 1 Corinthians 13:7 says “[love] bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things”…meaning love never gives up. Regardless of what the situation looks like, when we truly love someone or something we never give up on it. Is your situation telling you that this will never get better, this situation will never change, you will never obtain that dream, or there is no point in moving forward? If yes, I challenge you to tell your situation that love endures. When everything else fails…love endures. When the storms and rain come…love endures. When all you got is challenged to its peak…yet love endures. Remember, don’t give up on love because love will never give up on you. How do I know this? Because just like that mother can continue to stand by her child’s side no matter what…how much MORE has God stood by our side when we know we didn’t deserve it. God is love and he has never given up on us. Likewise, if we want to demonstrate true love, we must never give up on it.

Day 7: Love Completes. No matter how hard some people try to fight it, everybody needs somebody to love. In the beginning…God created so many marvelous things and at the end of each creation He would examine His creation and said “It is good.” But do you know what God said after he created man? God said, “It is NOT GOOD for man to be alone…” and then God created a partner for him (Gen 2:18). Even God knows that we were all meant to have someone we can love in our lives. Now I’m not saying that this love relationship has to be a romantic relationship, but God places friends, family, and even strangers in our lives so that we can demonstrate His love towards them. The best way we can understand God’s love is by seeing unconditional love demonstrated from another individual. We all desire love and desire to be loved. The last thing God created was man and when man was created everything God created was complete. We are not complete until we find relationship and the relationship that completes us is the one we FIRST build with God Himself. Without a relationship with Him we will never find true completion. Next we must build relationships with others so that we can experience the fullness of God’s complete love toward us. Take a minute to think about someone you love. When was the last time you told them you love them? Today, reach out to someone you care about…call them and tell them that you love them or that you really appreciate them in your life. You’ll be surprised how quickly the love you give will be returned. ♥

Well that’s the end of Dr. Hopes 7 Days of Love! I hope you all enjoyed my little points of wisdom. I wish you all a HAPPY LOVE DAY and may your hearts be free to give and receive love from this day forward!