These days, saying I love you is so common and so misunderstood, when most of the time what that really meant is “I love myself too much that I want to be with you because I’m GETTING the pleasure that I can’t get if I’m truly loving.”
Mother Teresa said that for “love to be real, it must cost, it must hurt, it must empty us of self.”
True, which is why, I believe the best practice to truly love someone is to not be loved in return. Unrequited love. This way, you can really focus on just giving and giving without expecting anything in return and really, without receiving anything in return.
Another good way to practice, but is way harder, is loving your enemies. Which means, you behave in a way that you love them even when your feelings say otherwise. Really a hard concept to follow if you’re not aware of how much God has loved you even when you were His mortal enemy. Even now and in the future when we act as if we’re His enemies, when we disobey and rebel against Him, He just continues to love us just the same.
So learning to truly love is hard. I need more years, more enemies (not really a problem since there’s so many people out there who are so not likable), to practice.
But thank God for what He has revealed to me, that eventhough perfect love can be found only in Him, when the time comes when He allows me to have a loving relationship here on earth, I’m thankful that I should not be guilty about having such high standards and non-negotiables. Because, in this world we live in nowadays, not even I love you will suffice anymore to give your heart away to that ONE person. As Pastor Sonnny Oaman said, only two words will suffice.
I DO.
Oh yeah, raise the bar ay! Because God only has the best things in store for us and deserves only the best in our relationships for Him to be honored.
So bring them all, whether personally-known or “public servants” on TV or just strangers on the streets (especially during traffic huh), they will be my love practice partners. Must practice and train hard while waiting for that I DO and before I can say I DO myself. 
