Monday, May 23, 2005

More On Love

God's true love is rare and counter-intuitive for H.Saps (and all animals). If we love God the way he loved us, we will make personal sacrifices for His sake. We won't just sing "hallelujahs" to Him while our brother is hungry or our sister is thirsty. We will sacrifice ourselves for others as He did -- thereby loving Him with all our hearts.

I don't believe our Creator is on an ego trip and needs stroked. He can cause the rocks to praise Him if he so chooses. What He wants is for us to have the kind of heart for which we were made in His image. We worship Him, we love Him with all our hearts, by loving our neighbor as ourselves.

This kind of sacrificial love is really the only attribute that separates us from our cousins in the animal world. My old hound dog Jake might give his life to save mine, but it would be due to genetic programming. It would not involve a conscious decision to deny his own instincts, knowing he would be committing suicide. Only we can do that, as Christ did for us.

Christ's death was a conscious decision that violated any and all instincts for self-preservation his mortal genetics demanded of him -- even as he prayed, "if it be possible, let this cup pass from me!".

He set the example, and that example is followed by us H.Saps every day. The little old lady in a nursing home who painfully limps with her cane down a hallway with her arthritic knees to help someone else is following Christ's example.

The "narrow way" which few find? I believe it is involves the one thing that separates us from other animals -- that part of us He made in His image. The ability to sacrifice ourselves for the sake of others. Most everything else will be traditions of men.

Unfortunately, many think they "love God" with their constant worship and praise -- which they subconsciously do to ensure they stay in good with the Big Guy. In other words, their "love" for God is really their "love" for themselves -- which is very natural, but is not really loving God nor their neighbor.

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