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June 15, 2004
all you need is love...
so i have been thinking a lot about love lately, just trying to really grasp what it is, what it looks like and how off our society has gotten. attempting to take a bunch of pieces and fit it all together in my little mind
true love expresses itself in obedience to God and service to others. in fact love is for the good of others and to bring God glory
interesting stuff i tell you, days of pondering
anywho... one main thought that stands out is the coincidence (which i don’t think is so coincidence) that God says love is patient first in the famous "love chapter." it is first word He uses to describe love. funny, it isn't "kind" or "giving" or any other thing you would immediately think of when considering love, but patient. how ironic this all is in our intense world of instant gratification, so contradictory to our lifestyles
another thought i found rather interesting to wrestle with came up at work this morning in a conversation about love and so on with Lorry and Todd. the argument was brought up that, the relief of pain is more pleasurable than the absence of pain ever existing hmm... interesting how we need them to reference each other. we need one in order to know the existence of the opposite
just a snap shot to my thinkings today
Posted by Emily at June 15, 2004 12:27 PM
Comments
Proverbs 13:19 A longing fulfilled is sweet to the soul, but fools detest turning from evil.
Lamentations 3:25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.
Waiting is good. :) Wait used to be my least favorite of all possible 4 letter words. But waiting is definitely worth it.
Posted by: Matt at June 15, 2004 01:51 PM
If love were kind before it was patient, it would get sick of our nonsense and leave, lest it become unkind.
(Way too many common nouns in that sentence.)
Posted by: Pat at June 15, 2004 03:19 PM
Once there were two sisters. Their brother died unexpectedly. "Why did you let this happen?" they asked Jesus. "You could have prevented it." But Jesus said, "This happened for God's glory, so that the Son may be glorified" (John 11). And then he raised Lazarus from the dead.
Many times things happen in a way we don't understand, or events turn a direction we would not prefer. And many times, that causes us to despair, to complain, to panic, to lose faith. But if we would only wait, we'd see it is God at work and the end result is his glory and our blessing, a joyful surprise from our cleverly powerful Lord.
I know God has a sense of humor because he has done things in my life that have made me smile and even laugh. I would have enjoyed it even more if I hadn't been anxious in the process.
It's a lesson I seem to relearn often. To "trust in the Lord and do good" (Psalm 37:4). I do my part and let him do his.
Then, as Isaiah said, "They who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength" (Isaiah 40:31).
Posted by: Different Dan at June 15, 2004 03:48 PM
Interesting topic. My verse this morning was Mark 12:30-31, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. The second is this: love your neighbor as yourself. There is no greater commandement than these."
I guess I never really think about how I love God, or how I show Him that love. I guess I usually assume loving God is obeying Him, but it's really so much more. Stuff to think about...
Posted by: THE Dan, (well...one of them) at June 15, 2004 04:30 PM
I would love to have been a little mouse in the coffee shop to hear your conversation with Lorry and Todd.
God knows we only want the warm fuzzy part of love, without basing it on substance. Telling us that love is patient is similar to God telling wives to respect their husbands, because that's harder than merely loving them.
Posted by: Kathy at June 15, 2004 09:40 PM
Patience, respect, love -- tough stuff (although I don't see why it should be so hard for our wives to respect -- actually, the word means revere -- us husbands).
"Why am I soft in the middle,
The rest of my life is so hard." -- Paul Simon
Posted by: Different Dan at June 16, 2004 08:29 AM
And Kathy, on this submission thing:
Just sit there and look pretty. Let us big strong guys do all the heavy theological lifting for you. ;)
Posted by: Different Dan at June 16, 2004 09:58 AM