Love, Lust, and Fantasy

We all go through it … feelings for that someone special who catches our eye.  You see that cute boy (or girl, if you’re a boy) and he looks at you with those eyes and that smile.  Your heart beats fast and your tummy does a little flip-flop.  Some call it “puppy love”.  Us oldies (but goodies) have a hard time remembering that even to the puppy … that love seems real.   It can be confusing.  You start to look forward to seeing him (or her, if you’re a him) and each time you do it gives you a little rush, a little pep to your step.  How do you know if it is just physical attraction or the real deal sent from above?

A little thing called love.

Love is no little thing.  It makes the world go ’round.  Imagine a loveless world.  His Word says, “Anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”  Think about that.  We imagine God as some floating bearded man who picks and chooses who to help, that’s about as much good as thinking He doesn’t exist at all.  Truth is, God is love.  He is a source greater than we can see, as mighty as the wind, His love stands the test of time.  He is more than our small minds can understand.  The problem is that the word love has been hijacked.  It is misunderstood.  We use it and abuse it.  One of my favorite verses is 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (MSG).  Check it out.

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

Lust sneaks in and pretends to be love.

Lust is a pretender.  It thumps you over the head and knocks you out cold.  Lust is wanting what you don’t have (or shouldn’t have) and putting your desire first before anything else.  What it comes down to is this: Our Hearts.

Where are our hearts?  Do we want what we want at any cost?  Can we be honest with God and ourselves and ask for pure hearts and true love?  Real love is putting others before ourselves and it is loving someone as a person not just for what they look like or for how they can make us feel.  So if you’re in a young relationship … don’t put your trust in the physical attraction and get stuck in a fantasy.

Have you ever been driven by lust?  What are some other differences between love and lust?