Tuesday

Where Love Is Possible.

Love is the answer to every person's desire in life.  I'm convinced.  Completely convinced.  It's in our DNA to desire to know love and to desire to give it away.  Even the greatest evils are simply perversions of the same love that brings healthy fulfillment.   I think if we were just more open to understanding the realms where love is possible... finding it would be less of a challenge.

The search for love consumes society.  We're obsessed with it. The storied history of mankind is saturated with the rise and fall of societies over love.  War has been started and solved over love.  It's amazing to see how the story of love has dominated our existence.   I remember pre-marriage dating and it wasn't a pretty sight.  I would fall pretty hard for girls and find myself acting out in ways that were so embarrassing.  Calling too many times, accidentally running into them in public (scAR-EE) and of course the worse demonstrations of all american macho.  All this to win the heart of a girl that might want to give love to me.  In our post-analog society, I can only imagine the trouble that clingy desperate dating prospects find themselves in these days.  Reality TV doesn't help either.   Trashy competitions and voyeur cameras deliver pressured responses without the trust and intimacy needed to create the environment for real love and yet... we watch.  Why do we watch?  Because if it works, we would lay down anything to try it too.   We're obsessed with finding love and willing to be open to any means it would take to experience what was created as the greatest life fulfillment.

Love defined is a challenge to come to. Much of society asks questions like:  Is love a feeling?  Is it a choice?  Is it sex alone? Is it something you're born with? Is it something that you mysteriously fall in and out of? Is it something you take?  I think there are so many questions because love defined as one thing would limit the world that love exists within.  It's so much bigger than what one word could describe.  It's power supersedes words and most people find themselves without them when they experience the purest version in their life to date.  We just know that when we find it, that nothing else matters.  We would give up anything for love.   I look at love as an ongoing revelation throughout our life.  Every relationship adding an experience that anchors our ability to love less conditionally.  While its nothing we can see or taste, most of us believe it's real because we've experienced it.  Those who struggle with it's possibilities have been soured by the love experience because someone mistreated them in the name of it.  Debates will rage on because if you've found love, you'd die for it and those who've not found it don't understand that sentiment.  It's that real and means that much.

So when is love possible?  Love can not exist without freedom and for ages people have decided it was worth dying for.  For the love of their country, Wael Ghonim and millions of Egyptians looked death in the eyes for 18 days, longing for the freedom their country deserved.  The greatest love stories of all time in popular literature, included death over love. Shakespeare's work all embodied this sacrifice.  Martin Luther King in love, ultimately giving his life for his brothers and sisters, inspired a revolution that brought the beginnings of equality in America.  The core value of America that makes us such a great nation is that within our freedom, our love can be experienced in the most diverse of realms with no limitations.  This makes the power of love to be as vast the atmosphere around us.  Love has no ceiling.  It take a free person to not create ceilings or limitation through control over people.   While SELF-control is needed in a freedom environment,  love can flourish when it's key values are in action.

The values of love are always going to be rooted in the desire to see the good of someone else.  Self awareness is the complete antithesis of love.  Love's DNA is made up with things like patience, honor, self-control, easily letting go of wrong, appreciating simple truth, preferring others over yourself, never quitting and passion for excellence.  It takes a free person to have patience.  It takes a free person to prefer someone over themselves.   Love becomes possible when we are not consumed by our own needs and attempts to be self sustaining.  Honesty is required here.  Love is not conjured or strived into existence... it is walked in.  It's identified with.  A love relationship is cultivated thru outrageous giving and worked out through trial and error.  All of it being added one layer at a time as we walk life out with the people around us.  Love is the answer to all of life's situations.  Be free to love and you'll find it'll be reciprocated because others are probably waiting on someone else to be first.

Filter:
The writer John in his first epistle of the Bible, wrote this: And we know (understand, recognize, are conscious of, by observation and by experience) and believe (adhere to and put faith in and rely on) the love God cherishes for us. God is love, and he who dwells and continues in love dwells and continues in God, and God dwells and continues in him. 

(reprise)


God is the answer to every person's desire in life.  I'm convinced.  Completely convinced.  It's in our DNA to desire to know God and to desire to give Him away.  Even the greatest evils are simply perversions of the same God that brings healthy fulfillment.   I think if we were just more open to understanding the realms where God is possible... finding Him would be less of a challenge.  

The search for God consumes society...  We're obsessed with Him. The storied history of mankind is saturated with the rise and fall of societies over God.  War has been started and solved over God.  It's amazing to see how the story of God has dominated our existence.   I remember pre-marriage christianity and it wasn't a pretty sight.  I would fall pretty hard for God and find myself acting out in ways that were so embarrassing.  Calling too many times, "accidentally" running into Him in public (scAR-EE) and of course the worse demonstrations of all american macho.  All this to win the heart of a God that might want to give Himself to me.  In our post-analog society, I can only imagine the trouble that clingy desperate christian prospects find themselves in these days.  Reality TV doesn't help either.   Trashy competitions and voyeur cameras deliver pressured responses without the trust and intimacy needed to create the environment for a real God and yet... we watch.  Why do we watch?  Because if it works, we would lay down anything to try it too.   We're obsessed with finding God and willing to be open to any means it would take to experience what was created as the greatest life fulfillment. 



God defined is a challenge to come to. Much of society asks questions like:  Is God a feeling?  Is He a choice?  Is He sex alone  (a "perks" or "blessings" based relationship with no string attached)? Is He something you're born with? Is He something that you mysteriously fall in and out of? Is He something you take?  I think there are so many questions because God defined as one thing would limit the world that He exists within.  He's so much bigger than what one word could describe.  His power supersedes words and most people find themselves without them when they experience the purest version in their life to date.  We just know that when we find Him, that nothing else matters.  We would give up anything for Him.   I look at God as an ongoing revelation throughout our life.  Every relationship adding an experience that anchors our ability to love less conditionally.  While its nothing we can see or taste, we believe it's real because we've experienced it.  Those who struggle with it's possibilities have been soured by the God experience because someone mistreated them in His name.  Debates will rage on because if you've found God, you'd die for Him and those who've not found Him don't understand that sentiment.  It's that real and means that much.


So when is God possible?  God can not exist without freedom and for ages people have decided it was worth dying for.  For the God of their country, Moses and millions of Israelites looked death in the eyes for 40 years, longing for the freedom their country deserved.  The greatest God stories of all time in popular literature, included death over God. Jesus' work all embodied this sacrifice.  The apostle Peter ultimately giving his life for his brothers and sisters, inspired a revolution that brought the beginnings of the church to the world.  The core value of the church that makes us such a great nation is that within our freedom, our God can be experienced in the most diverse of realms with no limitations.  This makes the power of God to be as vast the atmosphere around us.  God has no ceiling.  It take a free person to not create ceilings or limitation through control over people.   While SELF-control is needed in a freedom environment, God can flourish when His key values are in action.  

The values of God are always going to be rooted in the desire to see the good of someone else.  Self awareness is the complete antithesis of God.  God's DNA is made up with things like patience, honor, self-control, easily letting go of wrong, appreciating simple truth, preferring others over yourself, never quitting and passion for excellence.  It takes a free person to have patience.  It takes a free person to prefer someone over themselves.   God becomes possible when we are not consumed by our own needs and attempts to be self sustaining.  Honesty is required here.  God is not conjured or strived into existence... He is walked with.  He's identified with.  Our relationship is cultivated thru outrageous giving and worked out through trial and error.  All of it being added one layer at a time as we walk life out with the people around us.  God is the answer to all of life's situations.  Be free with God and you'll find it'll be reciprocated because others are probably waiting on someone else to be first.