Life is what we make it, so some say. And life is what you get, some others might say. But whatever you say, life is life, and to those that live, it is worth living for.
"To live is Christ, to die is gain", said Apostle Paul.
Yet sin is death, and Righteousness is the Way of life everlasting... so, I guess it comes down to your own personal understanding-perception- what you make your life about.
I recently watched the movie Shawshank Redemption. It is a favorite of mine, and there is a point where the main character says,
"Get busy livin', or get busy dyin'" in regard to a prisoner that had been let free, and didn't know how to live a free life.
And Christianity is like that. a prisoner set free.
Set free from sin.
But how many people set free from the chains of wickedness sin and unrighteousness have gone back into bondage because they didn't know how to live free?
I know it happens to people, but it doesn't have to.
People can learn to be free, without feeling weird.
And that is the trap of sin- people get comfortable with thier chains and don't know how to feel without them.
But I guess they need to realize that the chains are weighing them down. Holding them back.. making it harder for them to get to where they need to be in God.. or to "the prize" if you will.
People have needs. Not just physical, not only monetary, not just food for thier tummies. People have real emotional heartfelt needs to be loved, cherished, respected, and appreciated.
An observation would be that when people's emotional or mental or spiritual needs aren't met, they meet the need with something less than Love.
Love conquers all, and Love is the answer to the need. And I can't sit here and define it or say it's real easy to do, because it is and it isn't. But Love is the answer and part of loving is learning how to love, and live together in unity.
Life is beautiful, and I think love is what makes it so.
~Love~
Monday, September 27, 2010
Where Faith Meets Life
Posted by i angel at 27.9.10
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10 comments:
Wow, you make so many great observations. You have a nice way of communicating these difficult places in consciousness. And Shawshank Redemption is a good movie.
Thoughts that occur to me are; Faith is like Hope. Love is like Knowing. Bondage is a lack of knowing.
Christ did not have any of his earthly needs met and his tummy was often empty. I am saying, he did not live a life that we today would call happy, but he was not unhappy. Christ did not have a partner to sleep with or someone to comfort him or someone to love him. He had no one to lay with and no one to hold. No one to help him and no one to be with. No one to confide in and no one who could understand. Christ did have love, love for all and love for God. Still, he did not fight for love, rather he surrendered to life and he surrendered to God. He loved life and people and Christ surrendered his life.
But are any among us strong enough to be Love? Pure love. Love that wants not, Love that can be hated, Love that is alone. Love without the condition of being returned.
I agree with you, life is beautiful and people who love make it all the more so. Love is unity.
Maybe, Life is God’s Love.
Life is one.
You are Love!!!
Hello there!
Thank you for the gracious compliment. I would think I have some ways to go before being "Love". But I do see love in life all the time.
It's a good question you ask, "Are any among us strong enough to love?"
My definate answer is a yes. I think we just fail to see it from time to time... or possibly struggle with it.
I'm not one to come off as very brief but when I read you're examples I seemany kinds of people and not really limited but, I see people who work in social service jobs, loving without wanting, giving thier selves to help others, and I see police officers, being hated yet giving thier lives to serve and protect others (love always protects), I see nurses, I see single hard working parents, both mother and father, I even see friends that you don't suspect thier love, loving you with all thier hearts. Love is not something we always see or even understand but it is something we believe and know and trust and is heartfelt.
Life is beautiful, and love makes life so beautiful!
Thank you for posting me a comment, I haven't spent so much time on here but getting comments always makes it fun and interesting!
<3 ia
Love is not what society and the world thinks it is. Love is freedom, love is truth, love is not about (me), it isn't selfish. The perosn that loves unconditionally, even Christ-like - they sacrifice theirself, for love's sake. People do it, but do we recognize it? Does society appreciate it? Do people even believe in it?
I think that is why some people have a difficult time accepting Christ, and religous people often have conflict with the "unbeliever" thing- if a person has never known love, how can they recognize it without first recieving it and becoming acquainted with it? How can they give it unless they first are filled with it?
Who are we to judge?
Jesus says that we shall know they truth, and the truth shall make us free. Then He says "Thy Word is truth" as speaking to God (the Father).
I think Christianity goes deeper than people realize. The Holy Spirit works and tells us the Truth, but do we listen? DO we obey? Do we even Believe what He says?
I think living for Real takes courage because there is risk involved in telling the Truth, I mean, look at Jesus.
People get complacent when they think they have done a good deed, or helped someone and I'm not saying those things aren't nice, but why stop there. We can't pick and choose who needs love. Whose need to fill - that is not God-like. Because God is no respector of persons... He loves all His creation, Jesus said He rains on the good and evil, the nice and the nasty.
I have seen God's love - and all He wants for His creation is to be loved. He is SO Good- all He wants for people is Good.
HE doesn't want people to hurt or suffer. He is Love~
iangel
I wonder, if God does not want us to suffer, then why does Jesus and many others suffer for the sake of goodness and love? Could it be that suffering teaches us how to be free? However if we don't understand why, we keep suffering, and maybe we can learn before we die. But, still why do so many good people go unnoticed and unloved, why are so many misperceived? And why did Christ have to suffer and die. And I don't know that he suffered to rid us of sin, because the darkside is strong and sin is as much now as ever. God must have a reson for sin. Although, if Adam and Eve would not have eating of the 'tree of knoledge' in the garden of Eden, we would not have sin. I think there is a more profound reason for the suffering of Christ then, " for the sins of mankind." For Man kind still has the same sin. Maybe you can help me understand this. I believe in the redemption of Christ and in his resurrection.
I see love in everyone and I also see sadness in many. I love people and I believe and have faith in people. I am in love.
I think you are special, you have a sparkle in your words that shows how much you believe.
Hello Precious One,
I am touched by your letter and I hope what I write helps you. I will read your letter as i respond and answer each question or comment as I best I know how. Beginning with suffering, I think suffering of some sort is inevitable in life no matter what. But what I was trying to say before was God is compassionate in that when His people suffer, He "moves with compassion" to help. He is compassinate and caring, non judgmental, He listens, He doesn't condemn us if we sin, He waits for us to repent. H eloves us no matter what we're wearing. People aren't always so. Maybe because they don't think about other people.. or understand that life is hard sometimes. Maybe they have never experienced anything rough, or maybe they simply don't care.
I think if God let's us suffer, that it is usually for a reason. I think there are different types of suffering. One being godly-suffering, like Jesus. He didn't "do" anything wrong but He was made to suffer. And there's suffering from sin. When we sin, we suffer- it may not seem like suffering at first, in fact it usually seems nice, but the reason sin is sin is because back in moses day, with the ten commandments, God established that law to protect people from hurting themselves and others. Which brings us to suffering at the hand of another person.
We can learn from everything. ButI think the suffering that God allows is to help people turn to Him, to depend on Him and draw close to Him instead of maybe another person, or money or what seems to make them suffer- the lack of that thing.
Why do so many people go unnoticed, unloved and mispercieved?
I guess because when (you) love, you don't neccessarily need a lot of attention- loving isn't about your ego- it isn't about pride- those things are opposite of love. mental- you can't think about love too much or it won't make sense. Thats why love comes fromthe heart- people say love is a feeling and it feels so good to love and beloved and it does. But we have to use our head, our mind, to control what we love. We could go on loving things that don't matter, like cars, or football teams, or clothes and things. That wouldn't really help anything or anybody? It would be just a feeling.
Love can be challenging. It takes work, like praying, thinking, forgiving, sometimes even counseling. But if you use your head and heart and body together love becomes stronger and easier. Like giving someone a hug.
I think the message of the "Gospel" - the Good News - needed a Powerful person, Jesus to live and walk and talk and die. I think He had to die to get attention from the creation- I mean, what else can be so perplexing than killing "God"? If you read the Gospel carefully, Jesus will tell you that He is the Way to the Father- which means, God exists even though Christ died. The name "Jesus" means Savior, and Christ means the Anointed One. He suffered and died because He was God and because He loves us soooooo much, that He would die for you. Have you ever loved someone or something so much that you would do anything for that person to not have to suffer or have pain or hurt in thier life? that was Jesus dying on the cross.
I think it was terrible, but I think it was neccessary. People won't just listen or believe what they hear sometimes. They have to see -
Sometimes I am not sure on what people might say sin is. I guess you could define it like, first of all the ten commandments, secondly, as anything you are personally convicted about, thirdly, if it is helpful it must be good, if it's harmful, it must be bad.
Pray about everything. Enjoy life. Yes, people suffer but life is beautiful and I think there is sometimes beauty in the suffering. In the Bible, King Solomon says, "with knowledge comes sorrow".
I guess the best answer for that is that life is not so much about what we gain, but what we give (or "lose").
Not what we do for ourselves but for God and for others.
I hope you understand.
Love, iangel
I think the message of the "Gospel" - the Good News - needed a Powerful person, Jesus to live and walk and talk and die. I think He had to die to get attention from the creation- I mean, what else can be so perplexing than killing "God"? If you read the Gospel carefully, Jesus will tell you that He is the Way to the Father- which means, God exists even though Christ died. The name "Jesus" means Savior, and Christ means the Anointed One. He suffered and died because He was God and because He loves us soooooo much, that He would die for you. Have you ever loved someone or something so much that you would do anything for that person to not have to suffer or have pain or hurt in thier life? that was Jesus dying on the cross.
I think it was terrible, but I think it was neccessary. People won't just listen or believe what they hear sometimes. They have to see -
Sometimes I am not sure on what people might say sin is. I guess you could define it like, first of all the ten commandments, secondly, as anything you are personally convicted about, thirdly, if it is helpful it must be good, if it's harmful, it must be bad.
Pray about everything. Enjoy life. Yes, people suffer but life is beautiful and I think there is sometimes beauty in the suffering. In the Bible, King Solomon says, "with knowledge comes sorrow".
I guess the best answer for that is that life is not so much about what we gain, but what we give (or "lose").
Not what we do for ourselves but for God and for others.
I hope you understand.
Love, iangel
Thanks for your thoughtful response.
I pray to give my whole body and soul for those I love and for God. But sometimes I don't believe the people I love even know how much I love them. They see me differently than I truly am. It's alright because I know I love them, and so does the Lord. I see Christ as an example of how to walk in the light of God and give God's love. Thank God that Jesus got through, because there are many that have come, come now, and will come in the name of the lord.
I enjoyed your answers, they make sence to me, especialy the part about saving those you love from pain. It means alot to me that you answered my questions. Thanks.
God's Love Is.
God's Love Is... Good! :) Have a good weekend ~ iangel
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