So, people say that when a person is in love they almost seem to be better because of it, to act different and improved and almost more worthily. When people look at me, can they see that I'm in love? Do they think that I'm acting differently than I used to act, since I fell in love with Jesus? If He's the One who really holds the power to help us change and become more beautiful, shouldn't this "natural" reaction that people sometimes observe as a result of human love be even more pronounced in those who are spiritually betrothed to the best One of all?
I want people to see that in my life. I don't want them to think those kinds of thoughts only once they know that I'm in love with someone special here on earth. I want them to think *now* that I keep seeming different than I used to be as a result of Jesus' love for me.
I want people to look at the One who loves me and think, "I might not have thought she was beautiful, and I might not have thought she was noble, but if HE thinks she's special, she must be."
To be honest, don't most of us want to have our pride upheld by other people thinking we must have been pretty awesome stuff to have nabbed our loved one? ;
Don't most of us imagine a guy so awesome that everyone will think, "Wow, she must be something else if she can get that kind of catch!"
We can subconsciously look at romance as a pride-booster, something to convince ourselves and others of our self-worth and desirability. ;-)
I don't want to be captive to the thought that I have to marry someone other people will look at and then esteem me for transient reasons rather than godly, long lasting reasons. We need to look for guys who are like Jesus, our heavenly Betrothed. Now, I'm sure that we'll all be quite attracted to whomever we marry. ;-) But maybe not everyone will look at them and think, "Wow, he is SO comely that I want to follow after him and start a fan club for him!" Just look at Hollywood if you want to be reassured that the world doesn’t know anything about true beauty and comeliness and its unfading power.
Wouldn't it be better for people to look at him and think, "Wow...he must be married to someone special, who Jesus really loves and who Jesus is turning into someone really beautiful even though she couldn't have been beautiful in her own strength"?
And when it comes right down to it, can't we find so much more satisfaction and joy in the fact that Jesus picked us than we ever can with regard to ANY earthly romance? That we are nothing without Him isn’t just a poetic love song—it’s truth.
Showing posts with label love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label love. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Friday, February 8, 2008
When Others Do Things Better than We Do ;)
It’s hard to have someone come along and surpass me in skill!
Something that God’s been trying to teach me this year is that when I love like He loves, that love will cast out fear. See, it’s so easy for me to love in a self-centered way rather than in a way that shows that I care for other people more deeply than (or even as much as!) I do for myself. Yet to love like Christ means to love unselfishly. It means that I won’t be afraid of someone else doing better than me. This is the kind of love that will destroy my fear of being surpassed by others and that will make me willing to give Him my best even if someone else is capable of showing me up and making my efforts look pitiful. Isn't it usually really my own pride, in the first place, that's worried about how good I look in the eyes of others? ;-)
If I can only learn to love like Christ, my concern will be that God get as much glory as He possibly can. The gifts and abilities He’s given to the different children in His family aren’t so that we can surpass anyone. They’re to show that our God is unsurpassable. So if I become jealous and comparing, I need to remember the very purpose of the gifts that God’s given us—to bring glory to Him! Second Corinthians 10: 17-18 says, “But ‘he who glories, let him glory in the Lord.’ For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends.”
It’s good to remember, too, that even when we *are* placed in a lower position, that doesn’t mean that God isn’t capable of raising us up in His timing or that He sees us as being of any lesser worth. God often uses our weaknesses to teach us humility. He says that His strength is made perfect in weakness! When we try our best, but fail to do as well as someone else, our own lack of human skill is such an opportunity for Him to teach us. He can show us more about Himself and use His strength to make us strong, often in ways that are so much more important than the outward displays of talent and ability that the world views with so much importance.
David is one of my favorite Biblical examples of someone who seemed to be more lowly than others (in this case his siblings), yet who was rewarded because of his heart. When Samuel tried to figure out whom he was to anoint as king, it appeared to Samuel that David’s brothers must surely be God’s anointed. But because of his heart, David was exalted. I love how his inward priority was Christ. I love how it still would have been Christ even if he’d been left tending the sheep in the field. The story of David is just a good reminder to me that man is often tempted to look at outward things that really are so unimportant compared to the heart. “The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” I Sam. 18b
God doesn’t call us to compare ourselves with others. He just calls us to follow Him as steadfastly as we can and to bring Him glory in every way, but most of all by what’s inside our hearts that only He can ever fully see. We need to keep growing more like Christ so that we love more like He loves, realizing that we don’t need to be afraid of someone doing better than us even when we try our very hardest. He’s not afraid of it, and His opinion is what really matters! People, myself included, *will* look at outward accomplishments. This makes it hard not to judge my worth on what others value about me or think me to be, based on what they can see with their eyes. But our worth is in Christ, and when I struggle with being jealous or feeling incapable, I need to remember this. He is the one who makes us capable. It is before *God* that we stand or fall, not man, and it’s for Him that we labor, regardless of who seems to do a better job than we do. I’m just a vessel in great need of maturing and perfecting, but I know He can help us through this struggle!
Monday, August 27, 2007
Perfect Love
I've been thinking lately about how immature my love must be, for I'm seeing that my human ability to love is polluted with fear. Perfect love is supposed to cast out fear, not to tolerate fear, and certainly not to cause it. ;-) I've been thinking about how ironic it is that often when we feel ourselves beginning to care about someone in a more intense and intimate way, our feelings are surrounded by fear-- fear about what the other person thinks about us, fear regarding our own vulnerability. How imperfect our (my!) treatment of love can be.
First of all, I see how often I'm selfish when it comes to my relationship with Christ. How many times must He be saddened because I put other people or things first? I wonder if it's ever hard for Him to see me make mistakes because of how fervently He desires for me to be more mature and more like Him in His perfection. He must see how much more of me there is that I could give to Him, how much more faithfully I could do Him good and not evil all the days of my life (Prov. 31). I remember times in the past before I really had a relationship with Him when I was afraid to tell Him certain things, afraid of what He'd think if only He knew that I thought the last church service was...boring. It was as if He didn't know; I was treating Him as if He were under the delusion that I was a lot more flawless than I truly was. ;-)
And sometimes these things seem to carry over into my relationships with other people. I wish I didn't care one iota if I were to become of absolutely no reputation, as did the One I should be striving to emulate out of love unaffected by the world around me. I need to work on allowing Him to eradicate selfishness from within me. In my own struggles to love people like He does, it seems to be the main cause of the fear that taints. If I would only keep my mind even more stayed on Him, I'd find peace so much more perfect, peace not disturbed by emotions. I need Him to teach me to love people without caring whether it ever benefits me. I want to be able to love simply for the sake of loving. I want to love in the greatest sense of the word, in a willing-to-lay-my-life-down for the sake of my friends way, even in the every-day sense of thinking of them first and giving of myself time after time when it seems like it might be easier to just demonstrate my love for them once and for all with a single sacrificial plunge. If I allow my friendships to be self-centered, I'll fail miserably in keeping the two greatest commandments--to love God first and my neighbor as myself. I want to love in a way that doesn't seek it's own, that doesn't think evil, that isn't easily provoked, that isn't envious, that suffers long, that does a good job of covering sins, that bears, believes, hopes, and endures.
Love covers a multitude of sins.
Love leaves no room for a multitude of sins.
Help me not to fear...
First of all, I see how often I'm selfish when it comes to my relationship with Christ. How many times must He be saddened because I put other people or things first? I wonder if it's ever hard for Him to see me make mistakes because of how fervently He desires for me to be more mature and more like Him in His perfection. He must see how much more of me there is that I could give to Him, how much more faithfully I could do Him good and not evil all the days of my life (Prov. 31). I remember times in the past before I really had a relationship with Him when I was afraid to tell Him certain things, afraid of what He'd think if only He knew that I thought the last church service was...boring. It was as if He didn't know; I was treating Him as if He were under the delusion that I was a lot more flawless than I truly was. ;-)
And sometimes these things seem to carry over into my relationships with other people. I wish I didn't care one iota if I were to become of absolutely no reputation, as did the One I should be striving to emulate out of love unaffected by the world around me. I need to work on allowing Him to eradicate selfishness from within me. In my own struggles to love people like He does, it seems to be the main cause of the fear that taints. If I would only keep my mind even more stayed on Him, I'd find peace so much more perfect, peace not disturbed by emotions. I need Him to teach me to love people without caring whether it ever benefits me. I want to be able to love simply for the sake of loving. I want to love in the greatest sense of the word, in a willing-to-lay-my-life-down for the sake of my friends way, even in the every-day sense of thinking of them first and giving of myself time after time when it seems like it might be easier to just demonstrate my love for them once and for all with a single sacrificial plunge. If I allow my friendships to be self-centered, I'll fail miserably in keeping the two greatest commandments--to love God first and my neighbor as myself. I want to love in a way that doesn't seek it's own, that doesn't think evil, that isn't easily provoked, that isn't envious, that suffers long, that does a good job of covering sins, that bears, believes, hopes, and endures.
Love covers a multitude of sins.
Love leaves no room for a multitude of sins.
Help me not to fear...
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Rambly Thoughts on Relationships and on How Much Better God's Plans and Ways Are and on How He Can Do Great Things When We Listen to His Voice! :D
When it comes to relationships, it seems like even within God-honoring relationships we can easily tend toward focusing on ideals of how things must or *must not* take place.
It’s easy to think that something couldn’t possibly be God unless it happens exactly according to our preconceived ideas and the rules we’d made in our own minds.
Within the boundaries of Biblical relationships that are in line with God-given guidelines, I think God is more than capable of surprising us by transcending our expected specifics of how things should occur.
It’s easy to get so worried about how God will work things out that we’re actually distracted by our own consuming thoughts and miss out on things God has for us, things that don’t always occur exactly when or how we expected. Guidelines are awesome, but once we’ve studied Biblical principles about relationships, walking in line with what God shows us in each circumstance we face is most important. We girls can be consumed with making ourselves the most desirable, most attractive potential spouse for someone and constantly hoping that the right person will show up in the next month or two, when God already has taken it upon Himself to transform us with His beauty if we're really willing to allow Him to transform our lives and make us more like Him. We really don't have to be worried. When we follow Him each step of the way and do our best to be the women He wants us to be, we can grow in maturity and make wise choices, without carrying alone the burden to transform our own selves. He can show us just what we need to do to be ready for whatever He's calling us to, if we're just willing to sit at His feet and listen.
It’s easy to think that something couldn’t possibly be God unless it happens exactly according to our preconceived ideas and the rules we’d made in our own minds.
Within the boundaries of Biblical relationships that are in line with God-given guidelines, I think God is more than capable of surprising us by transcending our expected specifics of how things should occur.
It’s easy to get so worried about how God will work things out that we’re actually distracted by our own consuming thoughts and miss out on things God has for us, things that don’t always occur exactly when or how we expected. Guidelines are awesome, but once we’ve studied Biblical principles about relationships, walking in line with what God shows us in each circumstance we face is most important. We girls can be consumed with making ourselves the most desirable, most attractive potential spouse for someone and constantly hoping that the right person will show up in the next month or two, when God already has taken it upon Himself to transform us with His beauty if we're really willing to allow Him to transform our lives and make us more like Him. We really don't have to be worried. When we follow Him each step of the way and do our best to be the women He wants us to be, we can grow in maturity and make wise choices, without carrying alone the burden to transform our own selves. He can show us just what we need to do to be ready for whatever He's calling us to, if we're just willing to sit at His feet and listen.
It's easy as young women to let our feelings determine our desires, when our greatest desires should be to allow God to conform our feelings to line up with His plans. God’s so much more capable of bringing things to pass than we are, anyway, and the things He plans are always so much higher than our own plans. It's true in so many areas of life.
We really should do our best to be prepared for whatever future we think God is calling us to, to be well-approved, and to grow in wisdom and in favor with God and man. Yet as we wait, I think we need to wait even more upon God than upon a future spouse. =)
"As for God, His way is perfect;
The word of the Lord is proven;
He is a shield to all who trust in Him."
The word of the Lord is proven;
He is a shield to all who trust in Him."
Psalm 18
Saturday, February 3, 2007
Being Satisfied in Christ, Overflowing with Love for HIM!
We serve a jealous God. I think that it would bring Him much greater joy if we learn to be fulfilled wherever He has us now. Then if He does bring us another person to love, perhaps we'll be able to expand our love and attention to another person without it being as great a distraction as that Paul lamented. I'd like to be in a spot where the love I give to others is the overflow from being saturated in my love relationship with Him. I think we'd be in an amazing situation if our relationships with others didn't detract from our relationship with God.
How difficult, though--I suppose that's why Paul recognized how easy it is for us to be distracted and caught up with others without putting Him first.
It sounds silly, but it reminds me of what I felt like God was teaching me the other day while I was eating a snack. I felt disappointed because it just wasn't as pleasing as I'd hoped. "This is so unfulfilling," I thought. I felt convicted as soon as the thought crossed my mind for even applying the term "fulfilling" to something so transient that could never deserve that adjective on its own.
When I'm having a difficult day, somehow a snack doesn't raise my level of joy in proportion to the difficulty.
If our attitudes are flawed, will a relationship fix all the problems?
If we're already not content where we are, would we really be completely content in a different state?
We might be happier for a time, but the state of being in a relationship is never without its difficulties, either.
Just like the snack couldn't bring contentment, I don't think different relationship statuses can alone bring total fulfillment.
I tend to think that good things aren't as fulfilling as we'd hoped if we aren't already satisfied and content in the Giver of them even before they're given.
God is so good to us!
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
It is Valentine's Day once again... and THIS time I'm celebrating! =)
You know...I've never celebrated this holiday before. I haven't really liked what the day represented in my mind, particularly when it comes to the flippant, casual dating aspect of it. It often has seemed to be simply a day that is approached with nagging thoughts of uncertainty regarding what to buy one's date, a day when people exchange chocolates and teddy bears before exchanging kisses with their "significant other"....people quite "significant" enough to be fondled this year, but "other" enough NOT to be fondled next year. That's not my kind of holiday...not the kind of love I desire to honor and celebrate.
I'd rather let today be a day when I commemorate the true meaning of love. I'd rather let today be a day that I celebrate the beauty of waiting, the beauty of not awakening love before it pleases, the beauty of the opportunity I have to save romantic love for ONE man, the beauty of Christ's passion for His church as it is reflected in PURE love between a man and woman.
This is the love that causes me to rejoice! I find joy in the knowledge that once God awakens this type of love in my heart I shall have the opportunity to see a love that is a deep, radiant, passionate reflection of the way Christ has always felt for me. I am awed by the realization that such love that may someday seem so clear to me on earth shall be just a hazy glimpse of the heavenly love that surrounds me every moment.
I see how finite I am as I try to imagine a love that surpasses all I can understand in my own mind. I fail to imagine a love that will be stronger than any human emotion I will ever see or experience. Though today I cannot fathom the the grace and compassion, mercy and forgiveness and Love of the King who gave His all for you and I, perhaps someday He may give me the blessing of glimpsing such love more closely, even on earth.
This doesn't mean that I don't feel romantic love today; nor does it mean that I must be lonely or impatient. I already do love the man I'm saving myself for. Though I don't yet know the identity of this one I love, right now I have the awesome privilege of expressing and demonstrating this love by not giving it to anyone else--by saving it for him only. I have the opportunity to delight in Christ and in the fact that God is preparing me so that when I do meet my future husband, I will be ready. I find peace in the promise that "no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly" and exalt God for the knowledge that if the things I wait for are GOOD for me, then He shall not withhold them. I rest in the assurance that He knows what is good for me each step of the path along which He is leading me, and that if I feel a lack as I walk in His will, the lack I feel is something He is withholding because it is not a good thing for me in this season of my life. Today I may not see the young man I love...yet I know that if a time comes when this is a good thing for me, God shall not fail to bring it to pass.
If there is a young man somewhere who is waiting for me just as I am waiting for him....I want to tell him today that I love him....and I'm saving this love for him. This post is dedicated to him. I'm not wasting my Valentine's Day on worthless love. I'm saving it for priceless love.
This is what I'm celebrating today. I'm celebrating love. I'm celebrating God's love for us. I'm celebrating love that will show me more about God's love. I'm celebrating with those who in the harmony and faithfulness of their marriages demonstrate and embody Christ's passion and plan for his people--for His bride; I'm celebrating with those who are abiding in Christ until He reveals His plans for their lives. I'm celebrating God's flawless timing. I'm celebrating waiting.
Isn't that worthy of celebration?
~Holly
@}-'-,-'-,---
You know...I've never celebrated this holiday before. I haven't really liked what the day represented in my mind, particularly when it comes to the flippant, casual dating aspect of it. It often has seemed to be simply a day that is approached with nagging thoughts of uncertainty regarding what to buy one's date, a day when people exchange chocolates and teddy bears before exchanging kisses with their "significant other"....people quite "significant" enough to be fondled this year, but "other" enough NOT to be fondled next year. That's not my kind of holiday...not the kind of love I desire to honor and celebrate.
I'd rather let today be a day when I commemorate the true meaning of love. I'd rather let today be a day that I celebrate the beauty of waiting, the beauty of not awakening love before it pleases, the beauty of the opportunity I have to save romantic love for ONE man, the beauty of Christ's passion for His church as it is reflected in PURE love between a man and woman.
This is the love that causes me to rejoice! I find joy in the knowledge that once God awakens this type of love in my heart I shall have the opportunity to see a love that is a deep, radiant, passionate reflection of the way Christ has always felt for me. I am awed by the realization that such love that may someday seem so clear to me on earth shall be just a hazy glimpse of the heavenly love that surrounds me every moment.
I see how finite I am as I try to imagine a love that surpasses all I can understand in my own mind. I fail to imagine a love that will be stronger than any human emotion I will ever see or experience. Though today I cannot fathom the the grace and compassion, mercy and forgiveness and Love of the King who gave His all for you and I, perhaps someday He may give me the blessing of glimpsing such love more closely, even on earth.
This doesn't mean that I don't feel romantic love today; nor does it mean that I must be lonely or impatient. I already do love the man I'm saving myself for. Though I don't yet know the identity of this one I love, right now I have the awesome privilege of expressing and demonstrating this love by not giving it to anyone else--by saving it for him only. I have the opportunity to delight in Christ and in the fact that God is preparing me so that when I do meet my future husband, I will be ready. I find peace in the promise that "no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly" and exalt God for the knowledge that if the things I wait for are GOOD for me, then He shall not withhold them. I rest in the assurance that He knows what is good for me each step of the path along which He is leading me, and that if I feel a lack as I walk in His will, the lack I feel is something He is withholding because it is not a good thing for me in this season of my life. Today I may not see the young man I love...yet I know that if a time comes when this is a good thing for me, God shall not fail to bring it to pass.
If there is a young man somewhere who is waiting for me just as I am waiting for him....I want to tell him today that I love him....and I'm saving this love for him. This post is dedicated to him. I'm not wasting my Valentine's Day on worthless love. I'm saving it for priceless love.
This is what I'm celebrating today. I'm celebrating love. I'm celebrating God's love for us. I'm celebrating love that will show me more about God's love. I'm celebrating with those who in the harmony and faithfulness of their marriages demonstrate and embody Christ's passion and plan for his people--for His bride; I'm celebrating with those who are abiding in Christ until He reveals His plans for their lives. I'm celebrating God's flawless timing. I'm celebrating waiting.
Isn't that worthy of celebration?
~Holly
@}-'-,-'-,---
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