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THE THREE STEPS OF LOVE I have sat across the room from married couples and heard the following statement too often: “I am leaving my husband/wife. I just don’t love him/her anymore.”Basically "anymore" means "any longer."To say you don’t love your spouse anymore is an admission that you did love them once. What did you do back then, when you “loved” your spouse? You didn’t want them to just think you loved them, you set out to prove that you loved them. The choice was made to love, which led to a conscientious commitment to prove (show) your love. The commitment followed the choice.Somewhere in the journey of married life you stopped trying to prove your love for them and started taking it for granted. (Most of the time it happens on both sides.) Then one day you think, what has happened to our marriage? Why don’t I love him/her like I used to? You forgot what you did in the beginning. There was a time when you did anything and everything to prove your love.Today I want to talk about the three steps of love: The choice to love, the commitment to love, and the comfort of love.Comfort is what we feel when we know we are loved by our spouse. Be careful about letting the order get reversed. When you base love on feeling first your marriage is standing on sinking sand.Here’s a wonderful verse that consummates the true and beautiful love story of Isaac and Rebekah.Genesis 24:67 - “And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.”Watch how this verse gives us, in order, the three steps of love.1. The Choice“And Isaac... took Rebekah, and she became his wife...” Both Isaac and Rebekah made the choice to marry one another. Before there marriage they most likely had never met. Not much time for courtship, not much time for feelings to develop. They chose to marry one another because they believed it was the will of God.2. The Commitment“and he loved her...” The number one reason two people give of why they are getting married is; “Because we love one another.” That’s good; but take a look at the order in our verse, “she became his wife... and he loved her”. The love Isaac had for Rebekah came after the choice to make her his wife. This is why so many one day say, “I don’t love him/her anymore”. The truth is they take the love for granted and the commitment stops.3. The Comfort“and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.” Rebekah gave to Isaac what no one else could, the comforting feeling that someone, my wife, loves me.Here’s another verse that shows the three steps of love. John 3:16I’m so grateful that I NEVER have to worry about God saying to me, "I don’t love you anymore”.His choice to love me is an everlasting choice!Is not marital love suppose to be the same?