What is Love? Story

This is the story part of this whole series. Sorry that it is long.

I worked at the movie theater near my house over the summer, and I became friends with one of my co-workers. We instantly bonded over courses that we took in high school, even though we were in different schools. From then on, we always talked while we cleaned the theaters, and he became a really close friend. We talked on all sorts of topics, and even though we may not have agreed on every subject, we were still able to hold an actually discussion. We would tell each other a lot about our lives, and I never felt like he was judging me once. It just that for the first time in a long time, I had someone to talk to who didn’t judge me, and he listened, and I felt like there are people out there who do care to know what I have to say. Don’t get me wrong, I had friends who I trusted and who I know are there for me, but it was the first time that I could just be myself, and I had the best time hanging around him.

There were, however; two big difference between us: religion and gender identity. He is an Atheist, and he identifies as trans-gender. Now I’m not one who discriminates on who my friends are, and we had great conversations on religion and identity. He knows I am a Christian, and he knows where I stand on many subjects. Normally, I would argue my points in conversations with non-believers, but he was different. I couldn’t get him out of my mind, and I one day prayed “Why did you put him in my life God?” I knew God had a purpose for this friendship, and I would soon figure out a part of the reason why.

The Sunday before we both left for college, it was his last day of work. If you know me personally, I love writing little notes when something ends, just saying thanks for going through this with me. So I wrote him a note, wishing him well in college. But I had a nagging feeling that I had to do more, and as I was praying to God about what I should do, I got this crazy idea. I remember in many of our conversations him talking about how much CU Boulder cost, plus the cost for the injections for the trans-gender. I knew he was hurting financially, and while I couldn’t pay for everything, I knew I could help. So I wrote a check for $250.00, and I put it in the note, and his last night of work, my family went to see a movie, and I snuck away at  the end, and I stuck the check and note in his hat and left. I actually didn’t expect to see him, and I gave him the money, knowing that he couldn’t pay me back.

The thing that I didn’t expect was how much that it meant to him, and how much it would affect me. All I did was show some gratitude for him, and helped him financially. But God knew how much it would mean to him, and how much the whole experience would mean to me too. I gave to him not expecting to be paid back, but I did away, like it talked about in Luke 6:34 about lending money. The thing is that he didn’t cash the check. He actually laminated it because the thought means so much more than the money. Then you have the story of the Good Samaritan, who went out of his way to help a man. I went out of my way to make sure I went to the movies that Sunday so I could give him the note, a few sentences that he valued very much. Lastly I talked about Philippians 2, and I put his interest before mine. I was more worried for his financial need than mine, because I know that God has me covered when it comes to paying for college. The thing is, this was one event of me reflecting God’s love, and I take none of the credit, because it was the Holy Spirit who moved me to do this, knowing what both he and I would get out of it. God’s love has a way of changing both people that are involved, and from my side it is incredible. I did something small, compared to what Jesus did, and if I feel good for loving on my friend, I can’t even imagine how God feels every minute of every day that he loves us. This whole summer spent with my friend was amazing and I wouldn’t have changed it for the world, for the growth in my self-esteem, but also through the Holy Spirit in becoming a little more like Jesus. 

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you for your love everyday. Your love is constant and always there for me. I pray that I will be able to reflect your love onto others. You always know what you are doing, and I trust you with what you have for my future. Thank you for the friends that you place in my life. Amen.

What is Love? Verses

These two posts this week, plus whatever may carry over into next week, all go together. I was working on my post for today, and as I was typing and typing and typing and it got way too long. So I broke it up into two, maybe three, days. Today is just the Bible verses that I am going to be referring to during this time, and they will be mentioned in the upcoming post, so I encourage you to read them and my interpretation of them, but also find time before Saturday to read them on your own to develop your own understanding of these verses. The parts in bold are what I think are important, and they are what correlates best to the story on Saturday.

                                                                                            

The first verse I am going to use in this “What is Love” series is taken from Luke 6: 27-36.

 “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you.  Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also.  Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back.  Do to others as you would like them to do to you.

 “If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them!  And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much! And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.

 “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.” (NLT)

These verses are about loving your enemy, but I believe that they can be taken farther than that and applied to loving everyone. The verses in bold I feel can especially be applied to any situation. You can lend friends money, and not worry about them paying you back.  You can treat your friends like how you want to be treated in a friendship. You can show love to them, even if things may be a little hostile, and you can always show compassion. To me, this passage talks about going above and beyond what society believes how we should treat people, and loving anyone, even if they love us back or not.

The next verse that I want to examine more closely is Luke 10: 29-37

But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.  So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” (NIV)

Many of us know that this is the parable of the Good Samaritan. I chose this one because the Good Samaritan (in bold), went out of his way to help a man he didn’t know. He gave his money, time and possessions to this man that was on the side of the street. The Good Samaritan also didn’t feel obligated to help the man, but he did it out of love and compassion for him.

The last verse that I am going to use is Philippians 2:3-9.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
    and gave him the name that is above every name, (NIV)

I chose this last one, because it shows the love that God had when he sent his Son to Earth to die for us. It also shows how Jesus was here not to be served, but to serve. He put our interest before his, and died for us. We are than to take what Jesus did for us, and put others before ourselves and our needs.

These are only a select few of the verses to demonstrate God’s love for us. There are so many more, but I feel like these three fit well with the story I am to tell on Saturday. Please take time to read these and to understand them yourself and for your life, because they are great verses.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you for your love that you give every new morning. I pray that I can reflect your love onto other people. I pray that I can step outside society’s expectations and show the world what love truly looks like with your help. Amen.

What Is Love?

"We love because He loved us first" 1 John 4:19

Love is a funny emotion, one that can't be contained to one blog post. It is such a broad topic, and there are so many opinions of what love is. It has been a constant though in my brain for the past few weeks, and it is something that is very interesting to explore, and I want to take the time to explore it, and during the process, I hope we can all discover somethings for for what love is for each and everyone of us.

To the right is something that I painted this first week of college. It shows how many wonderful things can stem from a life that has love at the center. I paired that Bible verse with the painting, because Jesus is love, and that is where we learn to love is from his time on Earth. With Jesus at the center of our life, wonderful things are made.

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you so much for the love that you give me, and for the love that I can reflect onto others. I pray that I can grow closer to you and what it means to live a life full of your love. Thank you for your constant love. Amen