True Love

Have you ever tried to draw a circle? How close to a perfect circle did you get? Some of you may have been closer than others, but the possibility of your circle being perfect is virtually impossible. This is true with many areas in life including love. We know that everyone has heard of love… but what is "true" love?

Popular culture has fed us with many ideas of what true love is in movies, advertisements, books, etc. Obviously the ideas are false - one has only to look at the destruction and pain our society's idea of true love has caused. The media tells that true love is a feeling of affection, or a means of satisfying the desire we have to be loved. We find in many stories that true love is some vague, higher form of love that only some people find. Everybody looks for that "Prince Charming" or "Cinderella" in their lives, but what does God say about this?

The Bible's description of true love and our culture's description are very different. The Bible says true love is a permanent commitment to put someone else before yourself. True love is completely selfless and patient. It is gentle, yet firm and is not afraid to point out the faults of others. True love is a choice we make every day. It does not end when the other person does not return love in kind. Sometimes people think they love someone but have not committed to putting the other person before themselves, which is often a matter of mere sexual attraction. But has anyone ever shown true love?

Only one person in all of history has shown perfect love and that is Jesus Christ. He was so committed to us that He was willing to give His life in our place. This is the ultimate example of true love. No human has ever been able to show perfect love, just like no one can draw a perfect circle. But if we look to Christ's example, our lives can become small reflections of His true love. And the more we practice true love, the better we will become at "drawing the circle".

It is evident that we all need love in our lives and the opportunity to experience true love is something everyone has, but this can only be found in Christ.

In Christ's Love,

Josh and Aaron.

Reality

You know that feeling when you’re sleeping and all of a sudden it’s almost as if you just fell of a cliff? You then experience an immediate jolt, which causes you to abruptly wake up and realize eventually that you are still safe and sound. Moments later, you then doze back into a deep, peaceful sleep, with no more interruptions throughout the remaining hours of the night. After experiencing that “falling off a cliff” feeling and from that situation; you gain reassurance that you ARE safe, which then results with the blessing of peace, throughout the rest of that deep sleep.

This particular situation reminds of a certain real situation that happens in real life; a real reassurance that is only given to a small amount of real people; it’s the only real reality. At times, we may feel like we are falling off cliffs, we may experience times of loss, and frankly, we may even be undeniably wounded and broken in our personal lives. However, if we allow ourselves to be awaken from the pressures and burdens of the world, even if it means an immediate jolt will have to happen in our lives, reality will be uncovered: We have a Healer that will heal our wounds, Jesus Christ, the Maker of heaven and earth. He is the only real peace we will find in our real lives… and our only reassurance that we are really, and truly safe.

Your sister in Christ,
Kalahan