love well.
posted by matt beres | | Posted On 11.20.2008 at 8:41 AM
how well do you love? i've been thinking about this lately - what is love, what does it look like, how do we show it, etc...
i'm going out on a limb to say that most of us don't spend enough time thinking about how we can love our family and friends well. love is not a passive action of just being "nice" - love is an aggressive action that requires knowledge, action, and sacrifice.
people don't usually feel loved by small talk and smiles - there's more to it than that. it takes knowing someone; knowing what makes them excited or upset, knowing when they need compassion, knowing when they need some space, etc...
i stumbled onto this article in a magazine. it's a short one...
we feel free to pick and choose how we express our love, based largely on what seems loving to us. we even use "personality types" to rationalize not doing what love should do. we selectively express our love - mostly based on the way we like to be loved. shouldn't we be dedicated to finding the most meaningful, powerful ways to love others?
on the receiving end, do people have to guess what we mean when we show love, or are we clearly demonstrating what's on our heart? god's love is continual, unconditional and obvious. he goes out of his way to be sure we recognize that he loves us. are we loving god - and others - like that?
loving people should be like scattering seed. as our love falls on others, they shouldn't be left wondering what we are feeling or thinking. we should be so "on target" and so expressive that we leave no doubt. after all, that's the way god so loved the world, isn't it?
my challenge - don't leave your love and appreciation for those closest to you a mystery. love is an action - do it!
i'm going out on a limb to say that most of us don't spend enough time thinking about how we can love our family and friends well. love is not a passive action of just being "nice" - love is an aggressive action that requires knowledge, action, and sacrifice.
people don't usually feel loved by small talk and smiles - there's more to it than that. it takes knowing someone; knowing what makes them excited or upset, knowing when they need compassion, knowing when they need some space, etc...
i stumbled onto this article in a magazine. it's a short one...
we feel free to pick and choose how we express our love, based largely on what seems loving to us. we even use "personality types" to rationalize not doing what love should do. we selectively express our love - mostly based on the way we like to be loved. shouldn't we be dedicated to finding the most meaningful, powerful ways to love others?
on the receiving end, do people have to guess what we mean when we show love, or are we clearly demonstrating what's on our heart? god's love is continual, unconditional and obvious. he goes out of his way to be sure we recognize that he loves us. are we loving god - and others - like that?
loving people should be like scattering seed. as our love falls on others, they shouldn't be left wondering what we are feeling or thinking. we should be so "on target" and so expressive that we leave no doubt. after all, that's the way god so loved the world, isn't it?
my challenge - don't leave your love and appreciation for those closest to you a mystery. love is an action - do it!
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