Posted: 08/07/2010 at 9:03am | IP Logged

Finding True Love

As an Officer Cadet, it was not difficult to get dates. The uniform and the invitations to military balls ensured a steady supply of girls who were willing to date me. Kingston also had a hospital with a resident nurse’s training program and a civilian university, so there were always girls living away from home and seeking companionship.

I quickly realized that I was not someone who could enjoy being with a different girl every date. I needed a secure relationship to be happy. I needed desperately to love someone and to be loved. I was beginning to think that the right girl would never come along. For despite the number of girls to choose from, I was not happy. Many nights I would return from a date feeling miserable inside. I had been compromising my spiritual values with my need for love and it was tearing me apart.

True love that lasts

After a long time, I finally realized what was wrong. You see, I was trying to make a bargain with God in order to get love and a Christian girlfriend. But I had nothing, absolutely nothing, to bargain with.

I discovered that all along, God had been offering me someone to love and be loved by—himself. His love is the true love that lasts. I realized this in my third year at RMC through my roommate, Ken. He invited me to a church where I was welcomed by a wonderful couple who regularly invited Ken and me to their home. The rest and relaxation away from the busyness of college was wonderful. Through the influence of these friends and the church itself, I was once again in a close relationship with God. Because God loves me and created me, he gave me his Son, Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for my sins. I believe in him and through him, I can have a relationship with God.

God provides a wife

Once I got my priorities right and returned to God, he fulfilled my desires to be with fellow Christians. I had a great friend in my Aunt Minnie, a sensitive and caring person who was like an older sister to me. I believe God influenced her to introduce me to a Christian girl named Marty by letter. Marty and I exchanged letters and gradually fell in love with each other. I was the envy of many of my fellow cadets because of the wonderful scent of the perfumed letters I received from Marty. Between January and June 1964, about 160 letters were written between the two of us.

You may wonder whether such love, developed only through the exchange of letters, could be realistic. The answer is YES! We had God on our side. As we both committed our lives to him, we believed he would direct our paths. I eventually traveled to Yarrow to meet her on a personal level as well. We were engaged shortly thereafter and later married. We have been married for 40 years and are still happy together.

It is obvious that God has provided for me in so many ways, especially with this marriage. But I had to be fulfilled by his love first, and nobody else’s, for his love is true love.

Looking for true love

If you have been looking for love that is always satisfying, there is a way to receive this love, without having to give a bargain. Everyone wants to have someone to love and be loved in return. Jesus offers this fulfilling love and the opportunity to experience a personal relationship with God.

You can receive Christ right now by faith through prayer. Praying is simply talking to God. God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as he is with the attitude of your heart. Here’s a suggested prayer:

Lord Jesus, I want to know you personally. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life to you and ask you to come in as my Savior and Lord. Take control of my life. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be.

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