Little Lesson On Love
Word.
Love someone with a true, sacrificial love. Do not "I love you if" or "I love you because." No. Instead, love period. Love no matter what. It is okay to like certain characteristics and physical features of a person, but do not love them; love the soul, the heart. Characteristics and physical features change and fade over time, but the soul is everlasting.
If we do not love solely because they are made in God's image, if we shape them and make our habits their habits..... then we really are only loving the reflection of ourselves we see in them. When we love, we will challenge the other person to become a better-version-of-themself. Love is bold. Simultaneously, love can be hard to see: a small smile, an encouraging word, an act of kindness, letting another speak before you, etcetera.
Love is simple. It is putting the other person's needs before your own. If we humble ourselves, we can become love experts. I was thirteen when I wrote the following quote: Love as fierce as someone can hate.
My side note: Sometimes, I wonder if St. Paul was writing about God in these verses (because God = Love). Before, I had just thought that this was a guideline for us. Truth and love will be the things that still exist when the rest of the world dies. They never fail. He never fails.
Love is to desire another's happiness over one's own. Proverbs 17:17 says, "A friend loves at all times..." This means that "If you are happy and I am sad- I won't be for long because your happiness will soon become my own." Love is not painful, sad, or hard; confusion, distrust, and miscommunications are.
Please. If a person is not a damage to your emotional, physical, psychological, or spiritual state-- then never deny them the privilege of loving you. Especially God as a Father. You know something? In the Garden of Eden, Satan attacked the image of God as a loving, protective Father. He tricked Eve into believing that God was withholding good things from her and that He did not know what was best for her. Satan wanted to destroy the image of God as a Father.
Will you let Satan's lies lead you away from a relationship with God as a Father? Will you allow Satan the power to control your beliefs? No! It is time we put our feet down! Refute the lies Satan tells us! Reject the hostile thoughts that God does not know what is best! The enemy glorifies in the confusion he causes. Let us begin a rebellion. (One of my friends says that word "Rebel Lion." Not a bad idea).
God wants to lavish His love on you. "See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called His children."(1 John 3:1)
Who thinks Hell was created because God kicked His enemies out of Heaven? Raise your hands. Oh? Most of you; not surprising. Well, get ready for your mind to be blown! #onethecountofthree.
One.
Two...
THREE!
Hell was created out of love. Uh huh! It was! Let me give an analogy: Your best friend hosts a party and he/she is having their favorite food (for me, it is probably crispy chicken and cucumbers). It is also a requirement that you wear blue, teal, or green (my fav. colors). You tell them that you won't go because you hate those colors and the food. So, your bf tells you about a party going on somewhere else. They do this so while they are having fun at their house, you can have fun at theirs.
This is exactly what God did for Satan and his followers. God said, "You don't like this party, its requirements, and the people? Okay. I will create a place where you can go; I don't want you to be homeless." Wow! God is amazing! (take a quick moment to tell Him; I'm gonna too!)
. . . . .
Let God love you into eternity. Yep. You read that right. Into eternity, not until eternity. Pope Benedict XVI, in his book God Is Near Us, writes: "Eternity is not just endless time, but another level of existence... Eternal life is not simply what comes afterward...It is a new quality of existence." (emphasis mine).
Saint Thomas Aquinas said, "The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in His divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made a man, might make men gods." Now, you may be thinking "What?! Men cannot be gods!" You're right; we cannot. But we are called to a complete union with him. I believe eternity is when we live with and in the Trinity.
C. S. Lewis, in The Great Divorce, writes: "I think earth, if chosen instead of Heaven, will turn out to have been, all along, only a region in Hell; and earth, if put second to Heaven, to have been from the beginning a part of Heaven itself."
Well. That's intense to think about.
Also, let our Lady love you. She is a mother. The Mother, to be specific. She is unfathomably patient, generous, loving, sacrificial, honest, thoughtful, and a great listener. Mary has many titles. my personal favorites are: Mediatrix (after all, if you're afraid to go to BigPapa, then why not go to a "less scary" soul? She'll plead to Him on our behalf. Tradition says that Jesus was ready to destroy the world, but Mary held His hand back and pleaded with Him to show mercy.), Star of the Sea (life is a big ocean, She is the Lighthouse, the Temple that carries the Light), and Mirror of Justice (she reflects God's justice by always doing the right thing).
Another thing. Tell God you love Him. Tell Mary you love Her. Just like you know your parent or child(ren) know you love them, it does wonders to hear it from their mouths. Tell them you love them. And that goes for anyone; If you love someone or they mean so much to you- tell them before it is too late.
Would you rather live with regret and thinking "What if I told her/him?" Or would you rather have spoken the truth even if your voice shook? What will it take for one to realize life can be over in less than a blink of an eye?
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