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.
posted by Avenue Articles at
3:47 PM
10 Comments:
A good son that goes with what you guys said is a song called "Love" by Sara Groves.
Here are the lyrics:
love
i made it mine
i made it small
i made it blind
i followed heart
only to find
it wasn't love
it wasn't love
love
of songs in pen
oh love of movie endings
takes out the break
leaves out the bend
and misses love
love not of you
love not of me
come hold us up
come set us free
not as we know it
but as it can be
love's reality
is not of passing bravery
it holds out hope
beyond what's seen
the hope of love
love not of you
love not of me
come hold us up
come set us free
not as we know it
but as it can be
Agape love. Yes, so you seek to "draw a better circle". So Jesus is the only one who ever had that highest level or quality of love. Which allowed him to make "the ultimate sacrifice". Which brings to mind another thing. If any thing we do can be erased by the act of forgiveness then what can we not do?
Look at King David! Favored by "God"! He had another man murdered so he could have his wife! Yet he is praised by "God" as a man after his own heart. Explanation?
Alexander
In response to the question: "If anything we do can be erased by the act of forgiveness then what can we not do?"
Have you ever seen I Am Legend? If not, you should see it. Basically it's a story of people being infected by a man-made virus and going psycho. Once infected, they start going insane. They can only live in darkness and the virus eats them from the inside out, making them hideous. The hero, Will Smith, has an immunity to the disease and tried to find a cure for the dying people.
In one of the concluding scenes, Will is standing behind bullet proof glass trying to convince the infected people that he has the cure that will save them. However, they are so lost in darkness and are so insane that they ignore his plea and continue to try to kill him. They embrace the darkness that had consumed them and foolishly reject the one thing that can save their lives. Will ends up having to sacrifice his life to save the world from the sick disease of darkness.
Why did I just tell you the denouement of I Am Legend? Because it is remarkably similar to the story of the condemnation of the earth and it's salvation.
God created this world perfect. Many people ask how God could create pain and consider it "perfect". My explanation for that is that in order to make the world perfect, He had to give us free will. Would our world be perfect if we were forced to love Him and not have the choice to chose the direction of our lives? I don't think that sounds perfect. Personally, I don't like the idea of being like a robot.
Unfortunately, Adam and Eve decided to release the virus of sin into our world in an effort to become like God. Their choice, just like the choice of the doctors in the movie who created the virus that they thought would save people, infected the whole world with death.
Sin is no different from a virus in any way. It doesn't benefit you at all. Why do you think God asks us to live a moral life? To be controlling? If he was really controlling, why would He give us freewill in the first place? No. He's not trying to control us. He's trying to save us from a whole lot of pain. What does living in sin lead to? Happiness? I think not. From what I've seen, not only in the lives of people I know, but also all throughout history, sin leads to pain pain and more pain. Just like the virus in the movie. It is contagious and gross, it wants to consume and destroy. It hates. It kills. God wants to save us from that. He wants to help us attempt to undo the destruction we brought on ourselves. He wants to save us despite our daily rejection and denial of Him. That's a beautiful thing. That's selfless love.
So the real question is: Why would you want to subject yourself to a sinful life, to the blinding disease, when God offers you a fulfilling way to live?
Well it was very long in getting to the point but a good point at the end. So if some one is "infected" with sin and they cannot see the "light" due to the infection then what do you do. Do you force the light onto them at the point of a sword like the Crusaders? No, you persist in putting "the light" out their hoping some one will stumble into it. So how should you spread your faith? Your converts are usually corrupt politicians who would seek to use the title of a Christian to their advantage like the corrupt Catholic church of old, desperate people who have destroyed their life and want a cheat was to fix it IN THEIR MINDS, or people who are easily dominated and lacking of reason and logic.
Mankind has Mankind to help and be helped by and to have fellowship with. Why do so many cloud their vision with illusions?
Alexander S.
first of all, I've seen many "average" people who have converted, on their knees, not because they want a better image, or to redeem their consciences, though I have seen those, but because they know that there is no other way to save their souls. Second I would like to point out, that no matter how we use or portray Christianity, it does not change Christianity itself, so acuse the people, not the faith, when it is misused. My third and final point is that, at least in my life, if I had tried to rely on my self and those around me, I would have failed, and my life would be in ruins, and I don't think I'm stepping out of reason to say that, that is the case with many people. Also no matter how good we do as people, we cannot save ourselves in the life to come.
So are you saying that jesus can draw a perfect circle? You said that we can't, so then how can he?
If god made us in his image, meaning we are like him, then how can HE "draw a perfect circle"?
Elizabeth
" Anonymous said...
first of all, I've seen many "average" people who have converted, on their knees, not because they want a better image, or to redeem their consciences, though I have seen those, but because they know that there is no other way to save their souls. Second I would like to point out, that no matter how we use or portray Christianity, it does not change Christianity itself, so acuse the people, not the faith, when it is misused. My third and final point is that, at least in my life, if I had tried to rely on my self and those around me, I would have failed, and my life would be in ruins, and I don't think I'm stepping out of reason to say that, that is the case with many people. Also no matter how good we do as people, we cannot save ourselves in the life to come."
I am "attacking" both the people and the faith. After all the faith is made by the people and for the people weather it is true or not. And then since the faith is made by the people it is subject to flaws, such as the ones that the people belonging to that faith have made in history
In reply to Elizabeth's post I say this:
Concerning in the bible people being made in the image of god, well that is what it means. In the IMAGE of god, not a clone of god. So according to that then we are not subject to gods "perfectness".
Alexander
P.S. Some believe Jesus did not exist. I believe he did. He is written about by Roman historians; as is Moses, and the wealth of Solomon is recorded throughout Ancient times.
But this history has been incorporated into a faith.
The definition of Mythology is- "A myth is a sacred narrative explaining how the world and humankind came to be in their present form."
See the link?
Okay, I thought it meant more than that.
That he made us like him. Not just we look like him.
But how do you know that that is what it means?
You seem to not agree with these avenuearticle peeps. You seem to be a non-believer. Like me.
So how do you know?
Elizabeth
"The definition of Mythology is- "A myth is a sacred narrative explaining how the world and humankind came to be in their present form."
See the link?"
By the same coin, you're theory of how all this came to be (which I would be very interested to know) could be considered a myth. A myth is a theory of how the world and mankind came to be in it's present form, THAT HAS BEEN SCIENTIFICLY BEEN PROVEN WRONG, which is not the case with Christianity.
To elizabeth-
You have asked several times how we know things. Well the truth is, we don't, no one can really know for sure anything about reality, but we should try to take the most likely path, which we believe is Christianity. In regard to your last question, we believe that man is a kind of finite version of God. A shadow or reflection of him. We are also fallen from perfection, wich further differentiates us from God.
Ps. sorry if we start to sound "churchy" at times, we are trying to to be completly authentic, and not just reciting stuff. :)
Hey peeps,
are you going to post something new?
SK
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