3.06.2011

The Question of Love

I think a lot about Love.  Love seems to justify everything these days.  Love and tolerance. 

What is Love?  Puppy dogs and sweet smelling babies?  A brand-new pick-up truck or a new pair of red pumps?  Is it a feeling?

If God is Love, then does it not come from Him, defined by Him?  Or do we define Love, then put it upon God? a god?  Does not Love have a definition? or do we make it up as we go?  Are all actions justified if we have love?  Can even abhorrent actions be justified by love?

"Because I love her..."
"I may not be the best mom/dad/wife/husband but I love him/her/them."
"Two people who love each other..."

Is God God, or is He only what we want Him to be?  Do you define God or is God pre-existent?  Is God only Love?  or is He also justice and wrath? Can a God be only love without justice?  Can a parent be a good guide to a child with only a love that is void of justice?  Does not love, the love of  a parent, have definition?  I knew a mom who had 4 children to four different men, 2 who were incarcerated.  One man had the custody of one child.  The other three were finally taken by social services because she was repeatedly arrested for shop lifting, the children were sleeping on mattresses on the floor next to dog excrement, and there were garbage bags of unwashed clothing thrown in the basement.  Tears streaming down her face, she wailed and thrashed in the courtroom as the children were taken away, because "she loved them."  Does it seem like an open and shut case to you?  If you really look, do each one of us define love as we want, in a way that is convenient to us?  Or is there something bigger, greater than us, that defined ---no made Love?

It says in the Christian Bible that people have come to love the Created above the Creator.  Worshiping money, nature, animals...even Love itself. And hold it higher than God Himself.

Does Love win over all? or does God?

Grace notes: The point I am trying to make is that people actually worship Love.  A Godless Love.  They worship and honor love over God. I would contend that God is Love, but Love is not God.  That is how people justify what they do, whatever it is, no matter how abhorrent it is to God, because they themselves define love instead of looking to what God tells us about love. 

God needs to win out because we need to define love as God has defined it, within the context of his mercy and judgement.  We live in a world that a (self-defined) love wins the day and I think it is tragic.

3 comments:

Haley said...

Very interesting post. I have been asking a lot of similar questions lately. I will be the first person to tell you that my faith over the past 10 years has been severely shaken. I used to attend church and bible studies 3 times per week. Now I can't even bring myself to go to church once a year. How sad. I question my relationship with God constantly. My bibles are stored away in some tote in my closet. I blame a bad experience, but I feel I am afraid I will be let down again because of what happened in the past, yet I miss talking to God. I miss feeling that love. Then I wonder what I am doing to try to fill that void...and I'm not even sure what that answer is. Grace, you always get me thinking even more than I normally do. Thank you.

Sarah (GenMom) said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
brenda said...

I loved this post.

And yes, Haley, I can understand how one can get to the point of storing one's Bible in a tote in the closet. Sometimes it's hard to separate God from so called "godly people".

DO NOT STOP PURSUING GOD. He will honor your efforts