There are those who dream of wealth and the ease, comforts, and beauty it could bring to their lives. But all the comforts of wealth are really only worth experiencing if they can be shared. Isolation, even if in grandeur is not nearly as fulfilling. We eat a fantastic meal, and the experience is better if there is someone we can share it with. The more we care about the company we keep with us, the more the events have meaning and fulfillment. The best beach in the world is better with someone you love. The finest meal, the most elegant play, whatever the event – it gains meaning only so much as it can be shared. And though we may desire ease and comfort, it is actually the sharing that brings what is true meaning to our lives and existence. Wealth means little without love. But love can mean everything even without wealth.
There are those who dream of fame and popularity, they crave the adoration of people they have never even met. Yet fame does not offer real love. Admiration is not the same thing as intimacy. We may admire celebrities, want to have our pictures taken with them, or get an autograph, or have a brief exchange. But the motives of the masses are not about how to show love to those we call celebrity. They are more about bragging rights with our friends. They are more about serving the ego of the non-celebrity by being close to those many admire. We rarely are interested in friendships with celebrities for the purposes of what we might do for them, but rather what we might gain from the relationships. This is not love, it is merely another form of greed. Those with great fame are usually not the objects of selfless acts of kindness and charity, instead they are expected to show those acts to those who only seek them out for it. Fame then, is empty. It offers nothing but the questionable motives of those who seek proximity for reasons largely based on self-interest. Adoration is not love. But love is everything.
Our God showed us what love is, before we knew who He was. Our God loved us, before we could even consider loving Him. Our God loved us when some of us called ourselves His enemy. Our God loved first, last, and most. We come to our God because of His love and for no other reason. Fear will not long compel anyone to do anything. People have “close calls” in matters of health, or behavior, and may modify their actions for a short while, but it rarely lasts. Imminent consequences or fear of those consequences will motivate short term change, but can do nothing to hold it in place. But love, the kind of love that Christ brings to the human heart that is willing to accept it; that kind of love is life altering. God’s love will change your perceptions. God’s love will alter your thinking, your desires, and your actions. God’s love is transformational and constantly adding even more value to your existence. God is love, and love is everything.
To imagine the cosmos sprung into existence; that a periodic table of inanimate elements suddenly congealed in a way we have been unable to replicate, and life was born. To imagine that life grew and evolved into the series of species we have around us, absent design, absent intent; offers no explanation for the existence of love. More than the chemical attraction between two people, why does a mother protect her child at her own expense? The need to propagate a species implies a willingness to sacrifice the needs of the individual for those of the collective. Yet this is rarely found in human behavior. Why should a mother do anything to care for or nurture her child? We call it instinct. But how does instinct cover the life-long sacrifices a mother makes for her child well after they are capable of caring for themselves. How can we call instinct, the willful choice of a mother to sacrifice her own interests for the sake of her child? Willful sacrifice for the well-being of another is the base definition of love. The life of a woman who is devoid of love, would be better served to ignore having children. Devoid of the intimacy that develops between mother and child, the mere physical discomforts of pregnancy outweigh the results – absent love. But as love is something whose origins cannot be traced, and whose limits cannot be measured, yet we find it within us – so a mother comes to love a life she has never even met, as God loves us, even before we knew who He was.
One makes a choice to love. Beyond the pheromones that attract a mate, comes the choice to become monogamous and intimate with a person of our choosing. A life is dedicated to another. A life is spent shared with another. And there is no regret in the lives and loves of those who choose to give 100% to another without thought of what it is in for them. Reciprocated love, based on a choice, becomes even more powerful and profound over time. It is our decisions to abandon love that bring us pain in our lives. It is love unreturned that aches at our hearts and makes us miserable. It is the opposite of love that is everything we do not want. Where love is all we want, all we need. As we pass on, our lives are measured by the love we leave behind. Many grieve for the one who loved greatly, few for the one who loved sparingly. Indeed the measure of our existence is found in our love. We are the reflection of our creator. We are made in His image, the image of love. Love is a part of us, because we are a part of our Creator. He loved us so greatly He was willing to forego His own life, to redeem ours. The universe will forever marvel at this example of just how far love will go. He did not do this great act of redemption for Himself, He did it for the object of His love – He did it for us. It was His choice to love us. It was a choice He has made, and never faltered from.
If we are to know eternal life, we must know Christ, for He is eternal life. He is love. His work, His ministry, His miracles, His words – were a constant source of redemptive love. More than justice, more than doctrine, more than ideology, more than ancestral heritage, He was love to the world. If we are to bring Christ back into Christianity, it must begin and end with how we love. We must allow Him to fill us with His love. We must let Him teach us how to love like He loves. We must give up our own ideas about love and instead let His love control our very thoughts, our motives, our desires, and our actions. We must become one with Him, but submitting our will to His control, and His reform. Love does not originate in us, it is reflected through us. We are not the source of love, we are its image. As we allow God, we allow love. As we restrict God, we restrict love. He is love, the source of all love, a never ending fountain whose limits cannot be measured. God is love. And love is everything.
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