The post under the 18th didn't show up yesterday, and in fact didn't show up today until I posted my new one.
That's all I have to say about that
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Loving People
I've been thinking about loving people a lot. So much so, in fact, that this is my second time writing this (I'll deal with my hatred of inanimate objects at a later date).
I was thinking about God's love, how amazing, huge, unfathonable it is. And what do we do with it? We say thank you, get all mushy, and then go on as if nothing has changed.
Ok, that was a little too general, but still, are other peoples lives different because I have experienced the love of God? I know mine is, but is that it, am I saved only for myself, or has God allowed me to experience this richness, the vastness of who He is for something that goes beyond just who I am?
I want to love people. I want to truly love and apriciate and affirm and challenge those around me. And not just the ones who love back, the ones who hate me, ignore me, theones that drive me crazy. And I don't even want to do it so they'll feel bad or maybe be nice to me. I want to do it because I have experienced the love of God, and I can think of no other way to respond.
Responding to love can be hard. Love is free, so you can't say you have to respond a certain way, that makes it sound conditional. But really, when you have been loved, how can you not love back?
I was thinking about God's love, how amazing, huge, unfathonable it is. And what do we do with it? We say thank you, get all mushy, and then go on as if nothing has changed.
Ok, that was a little too general, but still, are other peoples lives different because I have experienced the love of God? I know mine is, but is that it, am I saved only for myself, or has God allowed me to experience this richness, the vastness of who He is for something that goes beyond just who I am?
I want to love people. I want to truly love and apriciate and affirm and challenge those around me. And not just the ones who love back, the ones who hate me, ignore me, theones that drive me crazy. And I don't even want to do it so they'll feel bad or maybe be nice to me. I want to do it because I have experienced the love of God, and I can think of no other way to respond.
Responding to love can be hard. Love is free, so you can't say you have to respond a certain way, that makes it sound conditional. But really, when you have been loved, how can you not love back?
Monday, April 18, 2005
About Loving People
One thing that I've learned during my time in college has been how to love other people. I was a very selfish person at one point in my life. I had a hard time doing something for someone else unless I knew there would be some personal benefit. Of course, I was able to justify this and convince myself it was completely normal, but that only lasted so long.
Sometimes it's hard to love other people. Sometimes it's hard not to leave the room when certain people enter it, sometimes its hard not to say things that really should not even have been thought, sometimes it's hard to listen to someone else and deal with their issues when really you just want to deal with your own. But everyone learns how to love, and these things are not such an issue.
Except when other people, the people you are trying to love, don't know the rules. The thought comes in that really if no one else is looking out for our rights and no one else is trying to do what's best for us, then we should step back in and make sure all is how it should be.
But that is not how it is supposed to work. God says to follow Him, Jesus is the example, and He gave Himself to the point of death. So even if the person we are trying to love asks us to die for them we must comply.
How many people have you died for lately? How many people have I died for lately. I still have trouble sometimes taking the dog out when my mother asks me. It really puts things into perspective, my petty little issues seem even more so as I consider what God has done for me, and then what He requires of me.
Would the world be different if we all learned how to love like this? Would lives change if they realized the true cost of love? I'm not talking about the world, I'm talking about those within the Church, those who have experienced the perfect love of the sacrifice of Jesus. Do they realize what that love costs, and the high cost of accepting it. No, there are no "requirements" on the love of God, it is not conditional. But how can a person honestly accept such a sacrifice and not respond properly.
Love, true love, will change the world. And I want to be a part of that
Sometimes it's hard to love other people. Sometimes it's hard not to leave the room when certain people enter it, sometimes its hard not to say things that really should not even have been thought, sometimes it's hard to listen to someone else and deal with their issues when really you just want to deal with your own. But everyone learns how to love, and these things are not such an issue.
Except when other people, the people you are trying to love, don't know the rules. The thought comes in that really if no one else is looking out for our rights and no one else is trying to do what's best for us, then we should step back in and make sure all is how it should be.
But that is not how it is supposed to work. God says to follow Him, Jesus is the example, and He gave Himself to the point of death. So even if the person we are trying to love asks us to die for them we must comply.
How many people have you died for lately? How many people have I died for lately. I still have trouble sometimes taking the dog out when my mother asks me. It really puts things into perspective, my petty little issues seem even more so as I consider what God has done for me, and then what He requires of me.
Would the world be different if we all learned how to love like this? Would lives change if they realized the true cost of love? I'm not talking about the world, I'm talking about those within the Church, those who have experienced the perfect love of the sacrifice of Jesus. Do they realize what that love costs, and the high cost of accepting it. No, there are no "requirements" on the love of God, it is not conditional. But how can a person honestly accept such a sacrifice and not respond properly.
Love, true love, will change the world. And I want to be a part of that
Thursday, April 07, 2005
Nearing the End
A lot of things in my life are almost done. I'm almost graduated. I'm almost married. I'm almost ready to move. But not yet. Not quite. It's almost as though I'm standing at the top of a cliff, ready to jump, excited, anxious, wanting to just see it all happen.
but i'm not there yet
I need to remember that, remember where I am, remember that I need to be here, that I can grow here and learn here and help people here.
It's hard to be where I am when I'm so close to something else, something that I've been waiting for so long.
But I am here, I am in school, I am engaged, and I am in New Brunswick. In a few months I'll be mising all of this (well, maybe not the engaged part), and so I will try to get the most out of it I can
but i'm not there yet
I need to remember that, remember where I am, remember that I need to be here, that I can grow here and learn here and help people here.
It's hard to be where I am when I'm so close to something else, something that I've been waiting for so long.
But I am here, I am in school, I am engaged, and I am in New Brunswick. In a few months I'll be mising all of this (well, maybe not the engaged part), and so I will try to get the most out of it I can
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