Do Not Guard Your Love

We have all heard that saying, "Guard your heart." It isn't just a saying of course. This verse is from Proverbs 4:23. All my life I have heard this verse used in the context of purity studies, sermons, and many deep conversations with close friends. While I feel that this verse is incredibly important and true, I also think it is tempting to take it out of context.

Oh yes, we need to guard our hearts. There is an enemy out there waiting to take our hearts for his own benefit. We always need to strive for the word of God and pursue a holy life to glorify Him instead of the enemy. We continually need to examine ourselves to be sure we are following after Him with everything we have:
"Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!"
Psalm 139:23-24

When I said that we want to take it out of context, I meant that we tend to associate this verse with loving another person. We want to change the phrase "guard your heart" to "guard your love." We tend to be careful with the people we choose to love. We want to be sure that they will give us back the same love we give them because we believe our hearts deserve that. We know it hurts to have a broken heart so we are choosy with what we give and to whom we give it to.

Can I just say something? I don't think the phrase "guard your heart" refers to how you should love another person. Jesus should be enough of an example for that:

"But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed."
Isaiah 53:5-6

Does this look like Jesus was guarding his love to you? Of course not. He humbled himself by coming to the earth as a baby, eating with sinners, crying with those who mourned, and experiencing death in the most gruesome way for us.

"Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13

He willingly gave his life... his heart... to us.
And every time we reject Him, His forgiveness still abounds when we repent.

This Love is scary. This Love is reckless. This Love is risky. This Love is not about you.

This Love never fails. 

So even though this is an incredibly hard thing to do... choose to love everyone around you even if they never love you back. Choose to forgive even though they have done the unthinkable. Choose to tear down the walls of self righteousness and fear. Choose to love like Jesus did. 

Rest assured that Christ's love is stronger than any rejection or hurt you will face in this world. 

I have learned this first hand. I have found it to be true. 

I will always strive to choose love because He loves me.