Love is...

My second 1/2 marathon is on February 27th and I am not ready for it. I've had injuries and bad weather and, well not enough time.  This past Saturday I went out for my long run (a 12 mile circle around my neighborhood).  Usually on short runs I have a set playlist of music, however, on my long runs I simply set my music to 'all' and 'shuffle'.  I spend my 1 to 2 hours listening to mostly Christian rock music while my mind wanders.  Often, I pray the entire run.  When my son was in basic training, I prayed solely for him.  On this particularly run my mind wandered and ended up on this particular topic: Love is a verb. 

The phrase "Love is" is listed in the Bible (NIV 2010) eleven times, in the KJV five times. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 "love is" is defined even further:  ⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. ⁸ Love never fails.

The Bible is painting us a word picture of an action. Patience is an action, kindness is an action, rejoicing is an action.  Not one place in the Bible does it say that love is a feeling, love is butterflies in your stomach, a longing, or a desire.  Love is a brain thing, a conscious effort from within your heart to do good for others.  Love is not something that one falls in or out of. It is a decision, then once the decision is made, an action must follow.  Love is a verb. 

While I was running and contemplating these things, a God-thing happened.  The Petra song "I am available" began to play. The lyrics are as follows:  "I don't have much to offer you, I don't have much to give, There's so much that I may never be, As long as I may live. And I may never be all I want to be, Although I'll always try, But if you chose me, to use me, There's just one reason why, I am available, I am available, I will you when you say go, I am available, I am available, I will stop when you say no. ......."  The lyrics continue but the part that said "LOVE IS" to me is as follows:  "I know that my ability, Is not your main concern, It's my availability and willingness to learn." (http://www.mp3lyrics.org/p/petra/i-am-available/)

So, my conclusion at the end of my run, when my legs were screaming STOP was this:  Love is not only a verb but it is also being available, willing and ready to do whatever God wants you to do regardless of who you are. 

Here I am, Lord.  Use me.