what a ditch
posted by matt beres | tags: faith, friendships, love, relationships, thoughts | Posted On 12.08.2008 at 12:30 PM
man, god has been rocking my face off with the topic of love. i don't know why this has become such a big theme over the past couple of weeks, but i guess you never really reach the "arrival" state of loving people around you.
two big thoughts on love for you today...
1. my good friend leeann shared a thought with me the other day that was really profound. have you read the story of the good samaritan? (luke 10:25-37) if you haven't read it you should. seriously, one of my top stories - right up there with the prodigal son.
i am really trying to grow my love for people. i mean, true love. not some expressive, distanced, safe love - but true, messy, up close and personal love. when we are in true community and true love with others we get to see their stuff and they ours. it's pretty ugly. often, we try to rate and judge people based on their baggage to see if they are worthy of our love, but god calls us to something so much bigger and deeper than that.
look at the story of the good samaritan. if you haven't read it in awhile - take a moment right now to look up luke 10:25-37. now, think about this. there was this man laying in a ditch. all the religious people passed by his beaten, bloody body. they didn't get close - in fact they didn't even get close enough to know what happened. instead, they just walked by.
along came the good samaritan (the hero). he looked at the man, had love for him, and helped him.
he didn't ask questions about his past.
didn't question how he got there.
didn't wonder if he was making right decisions.
wasn't worried about being taken advantage of.
he just loved.
the good samaritan knew that god's calling for him was to love. period.
so, he picked up the man, took him to an inn, and paid for him to recover.
the end.
2. 7
the average dating time in america is 7 months. now, i got this from wikipedia, so i don't know how credible it is, but it will help my point so i'm going to use it.
7 months. 7 months is fun. when you think about it 7 months is just enough time to get to know someone's likes and dislikes, their interests, their basic personality. but, after 7 months you know. you know most of the surface things about a person after 7 months. you start seeing flaws and having to work through relational conflicts. it gets rough. so, the temptation is to break it off. it's old, stale and boring. i've heard people say, "it's just not fun anymore..." or "it's just too much work."
true love and true community lasts longer than 7 months. at 7 months the "excitement" is gone. you know how people will react. you know basic knowledge about them. the temptation is to move on when the going gets tough.
it is easier to start a new relationship than work on the one in front of you...
isn't it true? it's easier to find new friends - more exciting.
it's easier to have an affair and get remarried again - more intrigue.
so what? here's what i'm thinking...keep working on the relationships god has put in your life - they are there for a reason. don't give up.
work on your marriage.
work on your friendships.
work on your relationships.
don't let 7 months become a relational pattern for you. if you do - you'll find yourself lonely and unknown by those closest around yu.
two big thoughts on love for you today...
1. my good friend leeann shared a thought with me the other day that was really profound. have you read the story of the good samaritan? (luke 10:25-37) if you haven't read it you should. seriously, one of my top stories - right up there with the prodigal son.
i am really trying to grow my love for people. i mean, true love. not some expressive, distanced, safe love - but true, messy, up close and personal love. when we are in true community and true love with others we get to see their stuff and they ours. it's pretty ugly. often, we try to rate and judge people based on their baggage to see if they are worthy of our love, but god calls us to something so much bigger and deeper than that.
look at the story of the good samaritan. if you haven't read it in awhile - take a moment right now to look up luke 10:25-37. now, think about this. there was this man laying in a ditch. all the religious people passed by his beaten, bloody body. they didn't get close - in fact they didn't even get close enough to know what happened. instead, they just walked by.
along came the good samaritan (the hero). he looked at the man, had love for him, and helped him.
he didn't ask questions about his past.
didn't question how he got there.
didn't wonder if he was making right decisions.
wasn't worried about being taken advantage of.
he just loved.
the good samaritan knew that god's calling for him was to love. period.
so, he picked up the man, took him to an inn, and paid for him to recover.
the end.
2. 7
the average dating time in america is 7 months. now, i got this from wikipedia, so i don't know how credible it is, but it will help my point so i'm going to use it.
7 months. 7 months is fun. when you think about it 7 months is just enough time to get to know someone's likes and dislikes, their interests, their basic personality. but, after 7 months you know. you know most of the surface things about a person after 7 months. you start seeing flaws and having to work through relational conflicts. it gets rough. so, the temptation is to break it off. it's old, stale and boring. i've heard people say, "it's just not fun anymore..." or "it's just too much work."
true love and true community lasts longer than 7 months. at 7 months the "excitement" is gone. you know how people will react. you know basic knowledge about them. the temptation is to move on when the going gets tough.
it is easier to start a new relationship than work on the one in front of you...
isn't it true? it's easier to find new friends - more exciting.
it's easier to have an affair and get remarried again - more intrigue.
so what? here's what i'm thinking...keep working on the relationships god has put in your life - they are there for a reason. don't give up.
work on your marriage.
work on your friendships.
work on your relationships.
don't let 7 months become a relational pattern for you. if you do - you'll find yourself lonely and unknown by those closest around yu.
Posts
Hey Matt, This post rocks! I'm so glad that you wrote that about the Good Samaritan cause, man, I think we question too much. I know I do. Thanks for reminding me to love the way God has called me to.
Blessings and have a great week!
T