Love
Passage: 1 John 4:18-19
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us.
Be patient, my soul: thou hast suffered worse than this. -Homer
It's always hard to find a Bible passage to write about. There are so many countless stories in there that I don't know what to pick, so often I just go to Google and type "Bible quotes". Today, however, I found one that has a particularly warm place in my heart. Sola Fide is a close friend of mine and the only one who has an extremely strong faith. She has a habit of accurately pointing out things that I never saw, and whenever I am upset she can quote Bible passages to me that make me feel a million times better. Today's passage is one of those, and very technically I have stolen what she told me for my sermon. Thanks, Sola Fide!
As well as I am doing regarding my bad spell, it's still a rough road. Every once in a while I have lapses where I feel like crying. I had sent an email to Sola Fide and she sensed that something was wrong. I explained my whole problem and she did her best to comfort me, including sending that passage and some of her words of wisdom, which I will take down here.
In relationships, we all too often hear things like, "I'm so worried about him liking me", "I'm scared he's going to dump me" or "I just want to look my best so he'll like me!" I had always thought that this was fine, nothing wrong with being concerned. But, as Sola Fide pointed out to me, there isn't any room in love for fear, which is what all three of those statements contain. True love is perfect, and if your love is perfect you wouldn't be scared all the time. So, perfect love gets rid of fear; it drives it out. We really don't need to freak about relationships. As big and important as our partner may seem to be, if they could really be effected badly by our appearance or if there really was a threat of being dumped, they evidently aren't a very good partner.
The passage continues to mention punishment. In the examples I gave, they all indicate a fear of something happening (him/her not liking them, being dumped, again not being liked). The 'something happening' is the punishment, which John states has to do with fear, ergo it has no place in love, either. This is greatly comforting, I find. Thoughts like those I mentioned aren't very nice, and they make you constantly stress and fret about everything. However, if you are truly in a perfect, true love, you won't have to stress. Love will never punish us; it's a reward in a sense.
Because punishment has to do with fear
and fear has no place in love.
AND He first loved us, before anyone ever did (even our parents! before we were even a twinkle in the eye...), which is why we can love.
~Godspede
Sunday, September 6
Wednesday, September 2
Désolé, entschuldigung, sorry...
Sola Fide and I would like to offer our apologies. Summer, as we have found out, has a way of making your self-initiative go "phht"... in other words, we have been on hiatus (I love that word, by the way... it sounds so bizarre that it makes me giggle).
So, I'm back to school. It isn't so bad this year, and I'm enjoying my classes quite a bit as I haven't been assigned any 'mean' teachers. Well, at least that I've found so far. What I'm surprised about is that I have been at school for two days-- count 'em: One, Two-- and I've already had the chance to evangelize.
e⋅van⋅ge⋅lize [i-van-juh-lahyz]: to preach the gospel
Preaching is a mean word, though. People use it in an unattractive context, like somebody being "too preachy" or the know-it-all "preaching" to you. Here's the definition of preach, though:
preach [preech]:
–verb (used with object)
1. to proclaim or make known by sermon (the gospel, good tidings, etc.).
2. to deliver (a sermon).
3. to advocate or inculcate (religious or moral truth, right conduct, etc.) in speech or writing.
–verb (used without object)
4. to deliver a sermon.
5. to give earnest advice, as on religious or moral subjects or the like.
6. to do this in an obtrusive or tedious way.
Not so unattractive, huh? Yeah, so my opportunities were small, mostly me mentioning that I am religious... but I was truly blessed, and God gave me a person who wanted to listen. All I said to her was "Yeah, so-and-so goes to my church..." and BANG she was asking, 'You go to church? What church?' etcetera, etcetera. I talked to her for a bit, thinking she was Christian as well, then I actually asked her if she was. She answered no, not really. Kinda. At all.
I was shocked, then surprised. She had given up much time to my chipper-talking about my Lord and Saviour, my Best Friend and the one Person I know I can always trust, and it seemed as though she must also share a similar feeling. Most people that aren't religious could care less about God and His stories, but here she was, fuelling my adoration. It always feels good when that happens.
He really is so wonderful. Sometimes I sit back and think about everything that He's done, and I'm flabbergasted. It's extraordinary, really, and it makes me so unbelievably happy... I just want to cry. You know, those good tears that heal the soul and make you smile. I love Him more than I thought was possible, and the best part is that He loves me even more, far more than any mind can fathom.
~Godspede
So, I'm back to school. It isn't so bad this year, and I'm enjoying my classes quite a bit as I haven't been assigned any 'mean' teachers. Well, at least that I've found so far. What I'm surprised about is that I have been at school for two days-- count 'em: One, Two-- and I've already had the chance to evangelize.
e⋅van⋅ge⋅lize [i-van-juh-lahyz]: to preach the gospel
Preaching is a mean word, though. People use it in an unattractive context, like somebody being "too preachy" or the know-it-all "preaching" to you. Here's the definition of preach, though:
preach [preech]:
–verb (used with object)
1. to proclaim or make known by sermon (the gospel, good tidings, etc.).
2. to deliver (a sermon).
3. to advocate or inculcate (religious or moral truth, right conduct, etc.) in speech or writing.
–verb (used without object)
4. to deliver a sermon.
5. to give earnest advice, as on religious or moral subjects or the like.
6. to do this in an obtrusive or tedious way.
Not so unattractive, huh? Yeah, so my opportunities were small, mostly me mentioning that I am religious... but I was truly blessed, and God gave me a person who wanted to listen. All I said to her was "Yeah, so-and-so goes to my church..." and BANG she was asking, 'You go to church? What church?' etcetera, etcetera. I talked to her for a bit, thinking she was Christian as well, then I actually asked her if she was. She answered no, not really. Kinda. At all.
I was shocked, then surprised. She had given up much time to my chipper-talking about my Lord and Saviour, my Best Friend and the one Person I know I can always trust, and it seemed as though she must also share a similar feeling. Most people that aren't religious could care less about God and His stories, but here she was, fuelling my adoration. It always feels good when that happens.
He really is so wonderful. Sometimes I sit back and think about everything that He's done, and I'm flabbergasted. It's extraordinary, really, and it makes me so unbelievably happy... I just want to cry. You know, those good tears that heal the soul and make you smile. I love Him more than I thought was possible, and the best part is that He loves me even more, far more than any mind can fathom.
~Godspede
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