Who knew one word could be used to describe both the love you have for a living, breathing human, and how much you love mac and cheese. Although, let’s be real…nothing and no one can compare to mac and cheese. That love conquers all.

Anyways, I digress.

This word can cause heart flutters and heartbreaks, yet when you look up the definition, it’s always the same. How can one word, with one definition, be used in so many different situations?

Let’s be real here for a second. We’ve all seen those romantic comedy movies where the guy gets the girl and they live happily ever after. We fall in love with the characters, but most importantly we fall in love with love. But not just any type of love; we fall in love with this idea that love is more than just a word. I mean, what would a good rom-com be if all the actors did was just stand there and talk about how much they love each other? No dancing under the stars, no sharing a plate of spaghetti (shout out to Lady and the Tramp), no extravagant dates…that would just be bor-ing.

We often even think of love as this word that we can write on a card to make someone feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I’m here to tell you it is so much more than that.

Love is about actively pursuing relationship. Relationship with friends, family, Jesus, significant others, pizza… you name it. Keyword: actively.

ac•tive /ak-tiv/ (adjective)

Engaged in action; characterized by energetic work, participation, etc.

We can say the word all we want, but unless we are actively pursuing that relationship, what’s the point?

Loving means living.

Love doesn’t just sit around and magically create meaning. It’s the actions that we do in love that make this word stand out among the rest.

God has shown us that love means sacrifice. Love means going out and being an example of Christ to those who need it most. It means having conversation, going on adventures with good friends, baking cookies for someone who is feeling a little down in the dumps. It’s smiling at a stranger, or even simply praying for a family member.

That is love.

Bob Goff said in his book titled Love Does, “Love is never stationary. In the end, love doesn’t just keep thinking about it or keep planning for it. Simply put: love does.”

Now, get out there and love like you have never loved before.