I think it's rare for there to be true love but not as to how I see it in Romeo and Juliet. Of course back when that story took place things were different, but if you honestly were 'in love' with someone overnight and want to marry the next day, 'why' would that be? Because you saw someone and thought 'Wow! i'm in love!' sort of thing? Keep in mind Romeo was in love with another woman before Juliet and when realizing he couldn't have her he thought he wasn't going to love again... Two seconds later, bam.
Many confuse love with lust and that passion is over dedication. We can sort of get the idea as to why people confuse love with lust, it's still pretty much taught today that if you find attraction in someone then you 'must' be in love no questions asked.
And really, what do I know? I'm just a very skeptical person on certain subjects and not willing to just jump the gun until I find in any shape or form that it can be real. Maybe that's why I wouldn't be getting anywhere. I'm just tired of the whole 'But I love her!' or 'I love him!' bull and then those very people find someone else and the cycle continues again. For the most part I think we lost the original definition of love.
Romeo and Juliette may not be the best reference when it comes to -romance-, but just because it is a worldwide known story, I threw it in there, also accompanied by perhaps a much better romance reference, the story of Ruth and Boaz. Although Romeo and Juliette at first glance may seem lust driven, I don't know, I question whether that's entirely it (I honestly haven't read the book nor watched the movie in such a long time, trying to grapple what I can remember of it). One thing that stands out for me about the story is the sacrifice, the setting aside of title and family to pursue love.
Arguably, it was an unhealthy relationship since they were obsessed with each other (okay, maybe that is lust of the flesh), and that they would rather die than live with out the other, but the angle I was heading towards was the idea of pursuit and stepping out in boldness, which is what I think about when I think of the story of Romeo and Juliette.
(Oh no, here comes Arlene, sharing her life story again)
Before I gave my life to the Lord, I had a cement heart. I concluded romance was a joke, love did not exist, joy was long forgotten and hope was out of reach. Love did not exist, what happened between a man and a woman was a game of "who's going to come out of the better end of this relationship with less scars". That's all I believed. Life was a story of mind games, walls and survival. In my most desperate hour, I cried out to God and confessed how much I needed Him to be my one and only Saviour.
My first impression of God was that He was this tyrant who couldn't wait to step on me when ever I did something wrong. If I step out of line, He's going to take His love away at the drop of a penny and discard me. My biggest revelation about who He is, is that He has a romantic side. God longs for us and pursues us, His love is relentless, He aches for our affections and endures the suffering as He watches and waits for us to turn our gaze to Him. In turn, in realising we are so loved, we too step out in boldness and declare our love to Him, we in turn pursue Him for we were loved first, and we openly declare our love and longing for Him as we raise our hands in worship, as we sing to Him in song from our open lips or from the hidden places of our hearts or whether in prayer.
I believe the ultimate love story is between us and our God. But... a romance that reflects (but never undermines or overtakes) this relationship can occur between man and woman as well. As people who were made in the image and likeness of God, I believe we too have that romantic streak.
I believe men reflect the warrior, conqueror, protector side of God's nature, while women are more inclined to reflect His merciful, compassionate side and to be a reflection of inward beauty. Beauty (of personality, character, etc.) is something that desires to be protected and preserved. Beauty provokes courage and boldness in the hearts of men and requires to be pursued and nourished. (These are things I've been reading about lately, trying to make some broad reference to books like 'Captivating', 'Wild at heart', and 'Kiss the girls and make them cry', but the thing about my brain is that in jumbles things up and regurgitates it in ways that may not always make sense, I hope this does ;P)
We live in a world filled pain and suffering, which creates walls around our hearts in order to protect ourselves . We are all well acquainted with rejection and heart ache. We love people with broken hearts or even if we receive new hearts through Christ, we still express love with a hint of our fallen nature.
But experiencing God's kind of love makes me believe that a romantic story may possibly unfold in my life. Not because a man should become my God or should replace God's rightful place, but because God restores, and He regenerates, and He presses more of Himself in to us so we reflect more of Him. I don't think romance is dead. I've been deeply wounded and hurt by family, by loved ones, by friends, but God awakened romance in me, and it makes me want to see more of Him in my world. I want to love like He does, and I want to be surrounded by people that love like He does. Therefore I believe that kind of story can be in my life.
I probably have a lot more to clarify but my eyeballs are hurting and I've kept still for way too long.
