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“Tough love is loving others when they least expect it and least deserve it.”

A thought by Mark Batterson from his book, Play the Man: Becoming the Man God Created You to Be (p. 6). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

Love has so many meanings, doesn’t it?  Now tough love may not be so romantic, but it could make a real difference in you and someone close to you.

Mark says, “The message of the gospel can be captured in two words: love conquers. But that love is not the puppy love our culture celebrates à la The Bachelorette. It’s a long-suffering love. It’s a love that always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres (1 Corinthians 13:7). It’s a love that even loves its enemies.

“Tough love is sacrificial love— a love that is willing to be nailed to a cross for someone else’s sin. Tough love is unconditional love— a love that is not dictated by someone else’s performance. Tough love is covenantal love— for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health.

He says, “It’s easy loving your wife when everything is going great, right? When it’s not going great, it’s not so easy. Why? Because our love tends to be reactive. Tough love is proactive. It’s not a need-seeking love; it’s a need-meeting love. It doesn’t seek validation, because it doesn’t need any! It adds value to the beloved!

“One of the great mistakes we make is thinking that God feels about us the same way we feel about ourselves. So we project our imperfections onto God. The reality is this: there is nothing you can do to make God love you any more or any less than He already does. God loves you perfectly, eternally.

“I know you know that, but do you believe it? Simply put: you mean the cross to Christ.

Mark then says, “When we are at our worst, God is at His best. Think of it as the sacrifice of love, and like the sacrifice of praise, it may be the most meaningful form of love because it means loving someone when you least feel like it.”  

We all want that kind of love and we all need to give that kind of love don’t we?  Would you accept God’s love for you, so he can love others through you?  Would you be a person of tough love?  Would you?

Yes, yes!
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