What is LOVE?

and by love I don’t mean the passionate feeling Hollywood tries to convince us is love.  But what is real Christ-like love? Genuine love for one another, love for siblings, brothers and sisters in Christ, love for people we find difficult to get along with. What does that kind of love look like? How do we learn to love people we don’t find it easy to enjoy? 

The first verse that comes to mind for most of us is probably 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 which says, 

“love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.” 

At first glance that may seem like a nice, easy list of do’s and don’ts, but I think when it’s unpacked it’s a whole lot more. “Love suffers long and is kind.” Suffers long. Patient. Forbearing. Uncomplaining. I find it interesting that patience and kindness are put together, and I think they are meant to be together for a reason. Sure, sometimes it’s easy to be tolerant of something or someone, but is it easy to always show kindness simultaneously? Maybe it’s easy for some to be kind, but is that kindness coupled with forbearance or seasoned with complaints? When we become practical atheists and are not patient and kind, when we rejoice in iniquity, when we behave rudely, are proud, and seek our own good above the good of others, we are not showing love. We are not behaving as Christ has called us to live, to take up our cross and follow Him. First Corinthians 11:24 says, “let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well being.” We can’t love our siblings, friends, and neighbors when our view of ourselves is so puffed up that we think more highly of our own good rather than the good of others. To be able to “love your neighbor as yourself,” I think it is imperative that we die to self and crucify our wants and wishes before God, giving over the desires of our flesh in order to show Christ’s love to other people. 

In all honesty I think we have to look deeper than the surface. The strength and power to love someone doesn’t come from some ability of our own. Any love that we could give comes from God, the author and perfect example of love. I am reminded of Galatians 2:20 which says, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” As Christians, the good that we do comes solely from God because apart from Him we are evil and corrupt. We have no love to give but for God’s grace. How much more important than that we be willing and eager to share that love with others. We are taking the undeserved blessing we have been given and pouring it out to others, yes even those among our acquaintances whom we perceive as being undeserving. I think we have to humble ourselves to acknowledge that we are not capable of loving others without God’s help and we have to ask Him to love them through us.

Today’s culture has tried to distort our view of love into a self-centered love. I think as a culture we want to feel. We want to feel accepted, appreciated, valued, comfortable, loved. We have been sucked into the idea that it is all apart of feeling good and feeling kind, regardless of whether we really are. We blindly follow where news and media lead, which is to a self-serving, self-gratifying approach to life. As long as go about giving the idea that we are loving the world, we can spend our main focus making ourselves comfortable.  We are surrounded by and, to a great degree, have accepted distorted views of everything -- family relationships and values, government and the role of the Church, love and marriage -- and as Christians we have to be careful to guard against these societal norms in opposition to a Christ-like view. Our views should not be the same as the world’s, and if they are there is something wrong. Love isn’t about us. The whole point is about others. Not living to gratify me, but dying to self to show God’s love to others. It should be a mindset, a way of life, a part are who you are. The world would like nothing more than for us to be trapped into their idea of love. Why? Because it is a distorted view of God’s love and Satan takes great pleasure in seeing Christians accept his skewed versions of truth. What is your view of love?

I'd really love to hear your thoughts, ideas, and criticism. Please share! =)

More Than Words On A Page

Spending much of the last two days resting and trying to get over the flu, I decided this was the perfect time to listen to an audiobook I received for Christmas from one of my brothers called Abigail Adams: Her Letters. I haven't finished it yet, but I have really enjoyed learning more about Abigail Adams' life. She wrote over 2100 letters in her lifetime, many of which were letters of encouragement, prayer, and general information to her husband who was away from his wife for much of their marriage due to his political duties. There is a saying that "behind every good man is a great woman" and Abigail Adams was certainly the great woman behind her husband John Adams, second President of the United States. She was also probably one of the most influential people in her sons' lives. Her oldest son John Quincy Adams, who became the sixth President of the United States, began traveling with his father on business trips when he was 10 years old. It was during one of these trips that Abigail wrote him a letter in which she says:

"My dear son, 

these are times in which a genius would wish to live. It is not is the still calm of life or in the repose of a pacific station that great characters are formed, the habits of a vigorous mind are formed in contending with difficulties. All history will convince you of this and that wisdom and penetration are the fruit of experience, not the lessons of retirement and leisure. Great necessities call out great virtues." 

There was more to her letter, but this part really stood out to me. She wrote so articulately and with purpose. Just reading or listening to her letters you learn so much about who she was as a woman, what things were important to her, what she valued in life, and where her focus was. She was focused on serving God, her husband, and her country. She was devoted to building others up with encouragement. It definitely got me thinking about what my letters say about me and what things I hold to be important. What do you want your letters to say about you? Things to think on as I strive to improve my letter writing. =)

~Striving for Christ,

Marissa

Home is Where My Heart is

I have been home for a week and a half now, and I can honestly say there is no place I'd rather be. Yes, I love traveling. Yes, I love spending time with my siblings and friends at college. Yes, I loved my vacation, but by the end of my stay in Moscow, I was really ready to come home. I think being away for almost a month helped me recognize and appreciate what a treasure I have in my family. I am so blessed to have such wonderful, godly parents who have such a strong love for God and an amazing vision for their family.

I missed the routine and structure of daily life. I missed cooking with Momma, walking into the kitchen to give Mom and hug and talk to her anytime of day, starting the day off with family worship, and gathering around the table three times a day, with the people I love the most (minus my older siblings), to share delicious meals. I missed seeing my brothers, hearing their guyish conversations and funny comments. I missed seeing my church family each week, receiving hugs from the precious little girls, talking with the mom's and young ladies, and hearing our wonderful pastor preach from God's Word.

As I begin to wrap up school and look forward to my high school graduation in a couple weeks, I continue to receive the previously daunting question of what I will be doing after graduation. For several weeks I had no idea what I was going to do or where God was going to lead me. I talked and prayed about it a lot, trying to choose between going to college at New Saint Andrews, where my older siblings are, or to stay home. Both options presented several pros and cons and I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to pick one. However, God's ways are not our ways, and in the course of a week, just before Christmas, God cleared up any doubt and showed me where He is directing my steps for this coming year. I am going to be staying home this next fall pursuing numerous things including music, literature, theology, finding ways to serve in my family, church, and community, and in general learning skills that will help prepare me to be a wife and mother someday. I couldn't be happier. Actually, I am nearly beside myself with joy and excitement about what all God has in store for me this next fall. I look forward to sharing the excitement of this journey with my readers and over time see the changes God brings about in my life.

~Striving for Christ,
Marissa

Only the Beginning

Hello there. Glad you made it to my new blog. I have decided to branch off and start my own blog. With Caity at college and Momma very busy teaching and raising three young men in the admonition of the Lord, our family blog has, for the most part, died. I'm not exactly sure at this point how much longer we'll leave it up or if there will be any more posts showing up there, but when we figure that out, I'll give you heads up.

My goals for this blog are

1) provide a way for relatives and friends (especially those who don't have facebook) to hear about the happenings of life in my neck of the woods

2) process and discuss thoughts and ideas about things I read or current discussions in every day life

3) post pictures, quotes, videos, and stories that brighten my life, in hopes that they may do the same for you

and most of all

4) bring glory to God through all my thoughts, words, and actions

I hope that God will use me, and the things I post, as an instrument through which to bless and encourage the lives of those who may read my blog.

~Striving for Christ,

Marissa