A couple of threads recently caught my attention in a very peculiar way.
I think there is a difference between what love means to a man than what it means to a woman. My purpose with this is not to generalize and stereotype gender expectations and understanding but rather to find out what it means to each of us.
As a boy I was taught that Love waits; if necessary it waits like the Count of Monte Cristo. It enables the bearer to endure ANY circumstance and overcome any obstacle that it could face. Like Cast Away, there is no time distance or obstacle that keeps him from believing in the love that he has for his wife.
I believe that the truest most genuine and purest form of love occurs in the hearts of children. They have no expectations, but only want to have the object of their affection know that they are loved.
I believe that love does not ask what is not becoming of it.
I believe that Love does not seek for its own selfish desire.
I believe that Love does not fight, cause strife, or struggle to get its way.
I believe that Love does not become something else, it is its own end and its own means.
I believe that Love is its own verification, it speaks, it inspires, it moves, it does not lie and it cannot be easily ignored.
I do not believe Reservations or Conditions or Circumstances have the capacity to supplant Love. I genuinely and sincerely believe Love is the most powerful force in the Universe. Love compelled God to send His only Son to die for us. Love moved the Shulamite out of her marriage with Solomon and into the arms of her beloved shepherd boy. It was Love that compelled Jacob to work for 12 years to be with the woman he loved.
I believe in a real and practical application of all the promises that love requires of us. But it is not a duty, for the sake of doing one's duty, rather every sacrifice and every ounce of effort given for the sake of Love, is its own reward. It is for this reason that Men cross deserts, climb mountains and swim oceans to with the object of their affection. Love is a treasure that has no measure and no equal with any material gift that can be purchased. I believe this is why Jesus commands us to love each other, without hesitation or reservation, as He did when He died for us. As Christ layed down his life for the church, so to must a man lay down his life for his wife.
In these threads I feel as though we might be missing the point. Love is not safe. Love is not tame. Love was meant to be given freely. Where mistrust and bitterness are allowed to seize our attention, Love is going to take second chair and eventually get choked out. We live in a perverse generation that would seek to steal the value of love and marriage. We cannot forget what it is that we are looking for. Its not what we get out of it but rather what we are capable of giving.
But that is just my opinion, what is yours?
I think there is a difference between what love means to a man than what it means to a woman. My purpose with this is not to generalize and stereotype gender expectations and understanding but rather to find out what it means to each of us.
As a boy I was taught that Love waits; if necessary it waits like the Count of Monte Cristo. It enables the bearer to endure ANY circumstance and overcome any obstacle that it could face. Like Cast Away, there is no time distance or obstacle that keeps him from believing in the love that he has for his wife.
I believe that the truest most genuine and purest form of love occurs in the hearts of children. They have no expectations, but only want to have the object of their affection know that they are loved.
I believe that love does not ask what is not becoming of it.
I believe that Love does not seek for its own selfish desire.
I believe that Love does not fight, cause strife, or struggle to get its way.
I believe that Love does not become something else, it is its own end and its own means.
I believe that Love is its own verification, it speaks, it inspires, it moves, it does not lie and it cannot be easily ignored.
I do not believe Reservations or Conditions or Circumstances have the capacity to supplant Love. I genuinely and sincerely believe Love is the most powerful force in the Universe. Love compelled God to send His only Son to die for us. Love moved the Shulamite out of her marriage with Solomon and into the arms of her beloved shepherd boy. It was Love that compelled Jacob to work for 12 years to be with the woman he loved.
I believe in a real and practical application of all the promises that love requires of us. But it is not a duty, for the sake of doing one's duty, rather every sacrifice and every ounce of effort given for the sake of Love, is its own reward. It is for this reason that Men cross deserts, climb mountains and swim oceans to with the object of their affection. Love is a treasure that has no measure and no equal with any material gift that can be purchased. I believe this is why Jesus commands us to love each other, without hesitation or reservation, as He did when He died for us. As Christ layed down his life for the church, so to must a man lay down his life for his wife.
In these threads I feel as though we might be missing the point. Love is not safe. Love is not tame. Love was meant to be given freely. Where mistrust and bitterness are allowed to seize our attention, Love is going to take second chair and eventually get choked out. We live in a perverse generation that would seek to steal the value of love and marriage. We cannot forget what it is that we are looking for. Its not what we get out of it but rather what we are capable of giving.
But that is just my opinion, what is yours?
We know what scripture says it is...
