I figured it would be moderately appropriate to blog about
such a thing, after all, today is a day dedicated to the topic.
Love;. A word that carries so much weight and power. A word
that is over, yet under used. A word that creates comfort, yet can destroy. A
word that has so many twisted, corrupt meanings; yet a word that could change
the world if it was genuinely experienced by all, and then activated
appropriately.
The word love is commonly overused in a way that which
people say it without authenticity, making it meaningless. Love is a word that
is under used when there are people in our lives, such as family, or close
friends that we love with all of our hearts, and don’t tell them enough, if
ever.
In the bible it says that God is love. God defines love. If
God is love, then God is the center of all things loved. If God is love, than
love is pure.
1st Corinthians 13: 4-8 says, Love is patient,
love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not
dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no
record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with truth. It
always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never
fails.
For those that are married, when God calls you to love your
spouse, you’re really doing yourself a favor, because in marriage, two become
one.
If God is the center of our love, we will strive to be
patient. We will strive to serve others, we will strive to forgive, we will
strive to be honest, we will strive to protect, and trust. If we (those who
aren’t married) truly loved someone, we would want to keep our bodies
pure of sexual immorality. We would want to respect each other in that
way, because until we have the promise of marriage, it can easily destroy
relationships, and deceive you. It will make you wonder if you are in it for
the right reasons; for love, or for lust.
Being here in the
Philippines, I have seen so many ugly relationships that are constructed purely
out of lust and money – to the point of disgust. Sex is not pure here. It’s
like a game that can be purchased; but only in this game, there is no winner.
The man is left loveless, and guilty, and the woman is left feeling devalued,
yet accepting it as a part of life.
The sad thing is, the same thing happens in the United
States, among people who don’t even find it wrong. How is a ‘one night stand’
any different than prostitution? The same thing happens, only this time there
is no money involved. The meaning and value of sex has gone down so much that
people are having sex before marriage, thinking that it is perfectly fine and
just another simple way to show affection. What they don’t realize is that they
are devaluing themselves, and their relationship. Sex before marriage is not
healthy. A lot of times, if people were to take the ‘sex’ part out of their
relationships, there is nothing left. There is no love, because they have
mistaken love for lust. God is love.
This was a hard blog to post; A, because its deep, and B, it’s
kind of an awkward subject, lets be real. Mom, I give you props for doing what
you do.
As I travel the world
and see all different perspectives, God continues to open my eyes to things I
have been so blinded of in the past. A lot of people look at religion as a set
of rules, that they are too selfish to follow, thus they avoid it at all costs,
(I can attest to this) but the truth is; the more you search after God, the
more you want to follow these rules. God has grace, and will love you no matter
what you do, But the more you love him, the more you want to respect him, and
keep his commandments. God is love.
Happy Valentines Day!
p.s. For Valentines day, the guys in our group took us to the beach, got us massages, served us breakfast, and rented a Karaoke machine later in the night. All the little girls showered me with cards and flowers. Best Valentines day ever!!!!
