The Hurting Kind​

This last week my husband and son took me to see my favorite musician, John Paul White. Neither of them was excited, but that didn’t stop me from clapping like a circus
seal and smiling from ear to ear…all while jumping slightly in my seat.

He played several of songs off his newest album, “The Hurting Kind,” to include the song titled the same.  A song about the fairy tale of falling in love…until you discover that “your love is the hurting kind.”  Essentially it’s a song about abuse within a relationship that should be love-centered.

I was weepy listening as it was sung live, while I thought back to relationships I’ve had that were similar to the hurting kind.  The more I think about the lyrics, the more I realize that all of our relationships, in this life, are the hurting kind.

Husband snippy at wife?  Hurting kind of love.  Child disrespectful to Mom? Hurting kind of love.  A friend betrays a friend? Hurting kind of love.  Husband or Wife cheats? Hurting kind of love.  All around us, there are relationships that in some respect are hurting kind.

Except there’s one relationship that isn’t the hurting kind. God.  God is love and He loves us.  While we might understand that in our mind, we may not always truly believe it. In times of questioning, remember these keys factors of God’s love:

• God’s love is steadfast and unchanging
• God’s love comforts us
• God’s love is revealed to us through His Son, Jesus Christ
• God’s love is poured into us through the Holy Spirit
• God’s love compels us to love one another

“How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!” ~Psalm 36:7 (NIV)

The only relationship, that is perfect love, is the one with God through the trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

It’s the only one that isn’t the hurting kind.

~Emily