“You were designed for love; that is part of the human architecture.”

A thought by John Townsend from his book, Loving People (p.13). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

We were, we really were designed for love.

John says, “This material is not about becoming someone you’re not. In fact, it is about becoming more of who you were truly meant to be. It is ultimately about the authentic part of you that God created. It may be buried way down inside, inaccessible, frozen, dormant, or undeveloped. But you have a God-given capacity to give and receive love, and you will be a better person when it begins to emerge and become part of your everyday life. There are specific skills you can learn in order to ‘do’ love, no matter what your background.”

He goes on, “At this point, you may have an objection like this: Love isn’t a ‘how-to.’ That sounds artificial and forced. I can’t make myself feel and experience love by some act of the will.

“This makes sense. We cannot force ourselves to feel anything. Feelings are the result of changes inside us. They aren’t a cause; they are an effect. Trying to will ourselves to feel love doesn’t work. Yet when we say that love is only a feeling, we reduce it to something less than what it truly is. . . love encompasses and experiences feelings, but love is not limited to feelings. It is much more—genuine love involves the heart, soul, and mind. We can all learn to develop this ability and enjoy the lasting and abundant benefits of love.”

He continues, “Of course, learning to love is not effortless; there is work and diligence involved. As the saying goes, you get what you pay for. Basically, there are two criteria for those who want to be loving people—humility and tolerating discomfort. Humility refers to accepting the fact that you do not know it all already. And tolerating discomfort is about being willing to try new things and take risks, some of which will involve vulnerability and failure. Those two requirements will stand you in good stead in becoming a loving person.”

He then says, “. . . the steps you take in this book will help you enter into experiences that will change, develop, and increase your ability to be loved and to love others. Love may be a mystery, but if you follow these practical steps, you can develop some mastery to its presence in your life.”

And that is what we want and need, isn’t it?

Yes, yes!

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