I do not come to my enemy and then try to love them, I come to them as a loving person.
Agape Love
C.S. Lewis
There are two kinds of love: we love wise and kind and beautiful people because we need them, but we love (or try to love) stupid and disagreeable people because they need us. This second kind is the more divine because that is how God loves us: not because we are lovable but because He is love, not because He needs to receive but He delights to give.
Danny Silk
I choose you. This is a foundation of true lasting relationships. It is the foundation for God’s relationship with you. As Jesus declared to His disciples, you did not choose me but I chose you. Jesus chose you in the most difficult of circumstances. He chose you while you were in sin. While you were His enemy. His side of the relationship with you does not depend on your choice, but entirely upon His choice. The question is whether or not you will learn to build your relationships with Him and others, upon the foundation of your choice.
Jason Vallotton
One of love’s greatest tragedies is that it’s been mistaken for passion. True love is rooted in sacrifice—the laying down and the giving of life. Passion is an emotion that is felt most often in the pursuit and exploration of another. We shouldn’t exchange passion for love. Nor should the pursuit of passion ever come before the foundation of love. When relationships are based on passion, emotion determines the depth of the connection, and before you know it, you’re hearing statements from married couples like, ‘We just fell out of love.’