12 Feb, 2010

A Formula For Love

There really is a formula for love

SYDNEY, Feb 11 (Reuters) — Romantics looking for everlasting love will swoon over a new love equation released just in time for Valentine's Day and which can calculate the right age to fall in love.

The equation nicknamed the "Fiancee Formula" was created by an Australian mathematics professor and works by factoring in the age at which you start looking for a long-term partner and the absolute oldest age you would consider getting married.

"Although probability isn't the most romantic basis for a marriage, the formula does seem to fit a lot of couples — whether through accident or design," said the equation's creator, Professor Tony Dooley at the University of New South Wales.

"There's no reason why the science can't be extended to calculate the best moment to marry," Dooley said in a statement.

However, love birds take note, the mathematical equation for love only has a 37 percent success rate.

The formula is helpful as a guide for the right moment to start getting serious, but could also be used by nervous men to calculate when to avoid the ultimate commitment, said Dooley.

Story found at news.yahoo.com.
Photo found at images.google.com.

1 Corinthians 13 (NIV)

   If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

   Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

   Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

   And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

What does God's Story teach us about a Formula For Love?

In morally corrupt Corinth, love had become a mixed-up term with little meaning. Today, people are still confused about love. Love is the greatest of all human qualities, and it is an attribute of God himself. 1 John 4:8 says, "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." Love involves unselfish service to others; to show it gives evidence that you care. (Life Application Study Bible)

Unfortunately, we get it mixed up with "feelings" and "emotions." Don't get me wrong, there are "feelings" that accompany love, but love is an action. It's a commitment. It is unselfish service. As for a formula for knowing when you are in love, it's simple — God's Story tells us that love is a decision we make and not just a feeling that comes over us. Remember that the next time you say or hear someone say something about "falling in love."

Connecting My Story To God's Story

  • During this Valentine's Day weekend, write a love letter to God thanking him for his unconditional love.
  • Spend some time writing down all the ways that God has shown you his love, even when you didn't "feel" it.
  • Are you planning to get married someday? Spend some time this weekend praying for your future spouse — no matter what age you are now. Pray for God to guide and direct their steps through this life.

Connecing Today's Story, My Story, and God's Story to My Friend's Story

  • Do you have a friend who is "in love"? Talk with them about their beliefs about love. Share God's idea of love with them.
  • Share Today's Story with some of your friends. Get their thoughts on the "Fiancee Formula." Talk with them about God's plan for love.
  • Do you know someone who might "feel" unloved this weekend? Allow God to love them through you in some practical way this weekend.
  • Who do you know that models God's Love in their marriage? Write a letter to them to thank them for setting an example for you and many others.
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