What Love Means to Me
Regardless of what kind of Love one may experience in this life time, Love IS. It's just plain Love. It doesn't have to be this or that kind in order to be real and genuine. And it doesn't have to make people perfect toward each other to be real either.
I used to think that if someone Loved me, they'd never do anything that would hurt me. Why? Because they would think of me first. And of course, if I Loved someone, I'd never hurt them, because I'd always think of them first. That isn't how it works. Why did I think that? Well, that was my first introduction to the word "Love" in Sabbath School (darn, you SS!). "The Kingdom of Heaven is here" and "In Heaven, we'll all Love each other perfectly and never hurt each other." Well, both statements on their own are true, but when put together, they give a person a totally false view of what Love on earth, in this lifetime, is supposed to be like.
I also used to think that people are born evil and without God in their lives, because I was taught this in church. (Don't start me, just don't...) No. People are born good. It's just the other people in their lives who were here a few years before them who really screw them up. In some ways, I knew that people are born good, yet when someone didn't treat me right, I assumed that somehow, they had turned evil, or that perhaps some people are born good and others evil (this was not theology, it was outward observation).
There is a high price to Love - one's pride. One has to learn to look at where another person is coming from and yet realize that the other person may not actually be able to see where they are coming from. And one has to learn to forgive themselves and admit it when they've failed in this area. And one has to realize that they will never understand the other person perfectly either.
Love is about value, not about only Forgiveness. Yes, Forgiveness is part of Love, but it's not the whole of Love! Enjoying another person as they are, in their good and bad tempers, is also a part of Love. And allowing yourself to be seen in your best and worst moments by that person, knowing that it's safe to do so, is also part of Love. Taking care of them and their hearts, is yet another part of Love.
I now believe that the Fruits of the Spirit are also the Fruits of Love. Those fruits are NOT the goal! They are an outgrowth of reaching that goal: Love. When you Love someone, those Fruits come naturally. So why do people struggle to Love? Love is far from easy even to understand, much less to have, if one is depending on their own power to have that Love. So the Power comes from God, and yet... One has to choose Love! A person can choose to be selfish as their dear friend is crying, or they can choose to walk over and hug them, hold them, and tell them everything's going to be alright. Does that mean people are evil if they don't choose to Love? No. Evil means the abscence of God, from what I've recently learned. People aren't inherantly evil. The devil is evil. He may have to have God's permission for everything he does, but he has ultimately chosen to not have God in his life at all, and God has respected that. Anyway, Loving people do make mistakes. They do hurt each other. They have major misunderstandings. They don't always listen to each other or see each other's sides. But if they Love each other, they will push through, stick with each other, and not allow themselves to intentionally hurt each other.
Loving people value each other, but they don't ultimately find their value in each other. They allow each other to be who they really are, and also go out of their way to put each other first, even when they've been hurt by each other.
All I ever wanted was to be Loved. Valued. Appreciated. I don't think that's a crime. I think that's what we all want. God offers it, and every once in awhile, so does an awsome friend. There is no such thing as a perfect person, but when we Love each other, we don't expect perfection out of each other. We might get hurt by each other, but then we forgive, instead of allowing pride, and the need to be at the top of Mt. Right, to get in the way.
Oh, and by the way... What does Love FEEL Like?
Shocking
Astounding
Silent
Complete
Real
Proven
Profound
True
I used to think that if someone Loved me, they'd never do anything that would hurt me. Why? Because they would think of me first. And of course, if I Loved someone, I'd never hurt them, because I'd always think of them first. That isn't how it works. Why did I think that? Well, that was my first introduction to the word "Love" in Sabbath School (darn, you SS!). "The Kingdom of Heaven is here" and "In Heaven, we'll all Love each other perfectly and never hurt each other." Well, both statements on their own are true, but when put together, they give a person a totally false view of what Love on earth, in this lifetime, is supposed to be like.
I also used to think that people are born evil and without God in their lives, because I was taught this in church. (Don't start me, just don't...) No. People are born good. It's just the other people in their lives who were here a few years before them who really screw them up. In some ways, I knew that people are born good, yet when someone didn't treat me right, I assumed that somehow, they had turned evil, or that perhaps some people are born good and others evil (this was not theology, it was outward observation).
There is a high price to Love - one's pride. One has to learn to look at where another person is coming from and yet realize that the other person may not actually be able to see where they are coming from. And one has to learn to forgive themselves and admit it when they've failed in this area. And one has to realize that they will never understand the other person perfectly either.
Love is about value, not about only Forgiveness. Yes, Forgiveness is part of Love, but it's not the whole of Love! Enjoying another person as they are, in their good and bad tempers, is also a part of Love. And allowing yourself to be seen in your best and worst moments by that person, knowing that it's safe to do so, is also part of Love. Taking care of them and their hearts, is yet another part of Love.
I now believe that the Fruits of the Spirit are also the Fruits of Love. Those fruits are NOT the goal! They are an outgrowth of reaching that goal: Love. When you Love someone, those Fruits come naturally. So why do people struggle to Love? Love is far from easy even to understand, much less to have, if one is depending on their own power to have that Love. So the Power comes from God, and yet... One has to choose Love! A person can choose to be selfish as their dear friend is crying, or they can choose to walk over and hug them, hold them, and tell them everything's going to be alright. Does that mean people are evil if they don't choose to Love? No. Evil means the abscence of God, from what I've recently learned. People aren't inherantly evil. The devil is evil. He may have to have God's permission for everything he does, but he has ultimately chosen to not have God in his life at all, and God has respected that. Anyway, Loving people do make mistakes. They do hurt each other. They have major misunderstandings. They don't always listen to each other or see each other's sides. But if they Love each other, they will push through, stick with each other, and not allow themselves to intentionally hurt each other.
Loving people value each other, but they don't ultimately find their value in each other. They allow each other to be who they really are, and also go out of their way to put each other first, even when they've been hurt by each other.
All I ever wanted was to be Loved. Valued. Appreciated. I don't think that's a crime. I think that's what we all want. God offers it, and every once in awhile, so does an awsome friend. There is no such thing as a perfect person, but when we Love each other, we don't expect perfection out of each other. We might get hurt by each other, but then we forgive, instead of allowing pride, and the need to be at the top of Mt. Right, to get in the way.
Oh, and by the way... What does Love FEEL Like?
Shocking
Astounding
Silent
Complete
Real
Proven
Profound
True
posted by Caroline Talita Ishshah | 11:14 PM
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