Power Can't Force Love

It's a choice, love. Yes, it's something that we feel, that develops, that grows, but it's ultimately a choice. We choose to love someone or something. It might be a choice made without us being aware, but there is a point where the walls come crashing down and a decision is made to go from liking someone to loving them, from seeing them as another human being on this journey of life with struggles to seeing them as another human being you want to help along this journey of life.
I read that power can force a lot of things onto a person. Think of a dictator or a cruel prison guard. They can make you do things that you never thought a human being should ever do; they can torment and torture you and make you wish that you were anywhere but there. In the end, they cannot, no matter how much power they wield over you, force you to love them.
I have grown up knowing that since the fall of man there is a choice for us to make. A choice to embrace Christ's sacrificial love or to reject it with disdain. At times I cannot understand the system that God has put into place, but I understand the concepts of it. There is a choice that must be made by each one of us, and we are not forced to choose either side. We are allowed freedom to weigh the facts and choose what we think is best. Obviously, there is one way that is best for all of us, but we are not forced to choose that side. God would love for all of us to choose the side that ends in our life forever sealed with him, but he knows that because of the sacrificial love and freedom of choice he has given us, there will be those who choose the other side.
Thinking about that makes me think about heart break. Yesterday was Valentine's Day and with that day comes bittersweet memories. There is heartache and loss meshed in with the sweet memories. How often has God felt the feeling of heartache or rejection? There are so many people that choose to go their own path and turn from His unending love. Oh how his heart must break when those backs turn.
I find it hard to think about God being rejected, but it happens daily. People don't realize just how amazing he is and how wonderfully gracious he is.