Random Thoughts on Random Subjects

I noticed I have a few unpublished posts in which I only got a paragraph or two written (and basically made my point in those small paragraphs). Therefore, I decided to combine them into one random thoughts posts...

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All I want for Christmas is... selfish stuff

Please know, I don't mean to offend anyone. But...

I have seen the above quote, or something similar, posted quite a bit lately. Many don't even say "I want".... they say "I pray".

To me, this is something so selfish.

Yes, I have lost people. And yes, I do talk to them. I do tell them I love them and miss them. But I add that I pray they are at peace. And to be honest, I am fairly certain they are at peace - they are with our Lord. They are loved in such a greater capacity than I could ever dare dream to love... in a way in which only God can love.

I don't want my loved ones to know how much I miss them. I want them embraced in the arms of God. I want them at peace and filled with such an endless love and warmth this world could never have provided. When I say I miss them....it's just me needing to voice my own earthly, human sorrow. It's me needing to feel closer to God and those who've left this earth.

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I saw this tonight... and my first thought was that sometimes it really isn't about putting them back together. Yes, that is the initial thought most of us have. But most often, it's about reaching through that brokenness... getting cut in the process... but still reaching, just to hold that person. Just to show that person some love and acceptance. 

You may not completely change a person that way, but you will make an impact. And to me, the cuts are worth it.

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"'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.'
'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'

But what is love? What is the kind of love Jesus is talking about in these verses?

We tend to think of love as an emotion – it’s a feeling of affection for another person. And we tend to believe that if someone loves us, they are acting from this place of affection and should meet certain expectations.

The problem with this way of thinking is that when the affectionate feelings lessen, or when expectations aren’t met, the relationship dies. Couples break up, get separated, or get divorced. Don’t misunderstand me – there are circumstances where this is a necessary occurrence. I am in no way stating that there aren’t good reasons for a couple to separate. But a simple loss of affectionate feeling is generally not a good reason. Although, on the otherhand, a simple affectionate feeling isn’t a good reason to be a couple.

Even when it comes to our relationship with family members, or close friends, we still operate under the definition of love being a feeling of affection. We tend to believe that this is enough.

Again, the problem with this is that if something goes wrong to cause that feeling to lessen, we find ourselves at odds with our family or friends, distancing ourselves from them, causing rifts or broken relationships.

This is not what God wants. Love for and from God is not merely a feeling of affection. Love is an action. It is a commitment. It is not a commitment to always feel affection. It is a commitment to always be loving.

When we treat love as simply a feeling of affection, we lose the ability to show godly love towards everyone. We are told to love our enemies. If love is an affectionate emotion only, how can we possibly succeed in loving our enemies? When we remember love is an action, then and only then can we bring that Godly love to those enemies.

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