Lesson 25: Love is sacrifice.
I think I may have skimmed the surface of this topic before, but I've decided to make this a whole post. I don't know why, but this topic has really been getting under my skin lately. Okay, maybe I should rephrase. People have been getting under my skin recently. These people get under my skin because they don't understand this concept, or they don't practice it. I know I myself have not always practiced the concept that "Love is Sacrifice," but I'd like to think that I'm at least at the intermediate level on this. I don't know, maybe I need to reread my Humility post haha.
Anywho, there are some people in my life and other people who've I've just recently met who don't get this concept and it genuinely bothers me. They say things like, "OMG. I LOVE HIM. HE MAKES ME FEEEEEEL SOOOO GOOD." To that I say, "Pipe the F*** down" (Haha, Jenna Marbles reference...yeah.) But seriously, get a grip. If you "love" this person because he makes you "feel" good, it's not love. Sure, feeling good can come with love. But if you do that, then you're basing the relationship on emotions and feelings. That's not healthy and it won't last. It's not sacrificial or unconditional love in any way shape or form. If I based my current relationship on how good he makes me feel, it wouldn't be a very good one. I will admit, there are days when he doesn't make me "feel good," but does that mean I love him any less? Of course not. (Sorry babe if you're reading this, but you're not perfect. But it's okay, cause neither am I. Our God is and that's all that matters!) I realized through our tough times that I did not practice this sacrificial and unconditional love and that's ultimately what lead to the separation. Not to say it was all my fault, but you get the idea. I realized through all the crap I put him through that I was not loving him unconditionally as he was/is. And I sure as heck wasn't sacrificial. Even through the tough times he told me, "I don't care about what you've done or what you feel, I still love you." (paraphrased)
I guess that's why I see people now who do this and I just cringe. I recently met someone who is in a relationship. Loving woman of God, but man... she is on a path of destruction. Only been dating this guy for a month or two (maybe 3, not sure) and claims to love him. Which, okay, I guess that's possible. But then the next day she comes and complains about something he did and says he's stupid, he's inconsiderate, etc. Then the next day they make up and the cycle repeats. During those times when he's being "insert insult", she's clearly not loving him. I get it if you need to rant every now and then, BUT COME ON. If you can't even go a week without putting conditions and expectations on your significant other, you don't deserve one. Period.
Same goes for friendships. I've had a lot of friends who don't sacrifice, and frankly those ones aren't ones worth keeping. Coming to someone when it's convenient for you is not okay. I get it. People get busy, and schedules conflict. But at least TRY. Key word: try. If you at least try, I know you're genuinely making an effort and sacrificing your time. If you're in a friendship because you "have fun with them" or "they make you feel happy", etc, etc, then how is that a friendship? People disappoint. Simple truth. I will disappoint people, others will disappoint me too. But does that mean you just give up? Not if you truly care for that person.
Wow. I totally just realized that this just turned into a rant post. My bad. If you've read that far, congrats on enduring that! But seriously, if you're in a relationship or whatever, just hear my plea and evaluate yourself. Do you love this person because you "feel good" or because you choose daily to love him/her? Love is a choice and an action. If you're basing love off of feelings, you're not truly loving. Heck, if Jesus based love off of his feelings, He wouldn't have died for us!!! Do you think he felt like going to the cross? No, he choose to sacrifice because He chooses to love us unconditionally. Wow.
With Lots of Love,
~SSD (Alyssa)
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Testimonies
Lesson 24: A testimony is life long.
So these past two weeks at youth group, we've been talking a lot about testimonies. A lot of our high school kids got the chance to share theirs and it a lot of them were quite inspiring. Every single one shared a piece of God's story and that's so powerful. However, I will admit that I was somewhat disappointed with some. Some of the high schoolers only shared the part where they were saved and they consider that their "testimony". It reminded me of one of the most important lessons I learned this year at Hume Lake. A testimony does not end at your salvation. A testimony is an on going process and when we share, we need to be mindful of what God is doing in our lives here and now. An example that I was taught is that a testimony is like a marriage.
Illustration time: "How's your relationship with your wife?"
"It's great! You know the wedding was absolutely perfect. She was so stunning in her gown and she just captivated my heart. Everyone cheered and we had so much fun that day. Life changing day."
"That's great! But that was two years ago, how are you guys doing today?"
"Today? Oh well, I haven't really talked to her since, but it's fine."
Can you just hear how ridiculous this sounds? The marriage/relationship means nothing unless that person continually loves his wife and commits to her. Wouldn't the conversation have sounded much better if he had said something like, "Relationship is great! I'll admit we had a little rocky time in our marriage, but we're working through it. She's so great and I just love learning new things about her everyday. Like the other day we..." etc etc etc.
So why do we do the same thing with our testimony? Can our testimony really be a testimony if we're not living it out? I can have the best 'rescue' story in the world, but if I'm not living a Godly life here and now, what does it matter? Now, this isn't to say that your relationship with God always has to be perfect for your testimony to matter. But even through the difficult times, how are you putting in effort into the relationship? Are you still staying in the Word? I know a lot of times I've said, "Relationship with God isn't that great, I feel like I can't trust Him with this. But I know He's working, I just haven't seen it or understood it yet."
God, we're part of your story, not the other way around. You never said, "Invite me into your life." Instead you said, "Surrender your life. Then come, follow me" (Paraphrased, Matt 19:21). You invite us into this adventurous, and beautiful story of yours and thank you for that. I love you, Abba. Thank you.
With All My Love,
~Alyssa
So these past two weeks at youth group, we've been talking a lot about testimonies. A lot of our high school kids got the chance to share theirs and it a lot of them were quite inspiring. Every single one shared a piece of God's story and that's so powerful. However, I will admit that I was somewhat disappointed with some. Some of the high schoolers only shared the part where they were saved and they consider that their "testimony". It reminded me of one of the most important lessons I learned this year at Hume Lake. A testimony does not end at your salvation. A testimony is an on going process and when we share, we need to be mindful of what God is doing in our lives here and now. An example that I was taught is that a testimony is like a marriage.
Illustration time: "How's your relationship with your wife?"
"It's great! You know the wedding was absolutely perfect. She was so stunning in her gown and she just captivated my heart. Everyone cheered and we had so much fun that day. Life changing day."
"That's great! But that was two years ago, how are you guys doing today?"
"Today? Oh well, I haven't really talked to her since, but it's fine."
Can you just hear how ridiculous this sounds? The marriage/relationship means nothing unless that person continually loves his wife and commits to her. Wouldn't the conversation have sounded much better if he had said something like, "Relationship is great! I'll admit we had a little rocky time in our marriage, but we're working through it. She's so great and I just love learning new things about her everyday. Like the other day we..." etc etc etc.
So why do we do the same thing with our testimony? Can our testimony really be a testimony if we're not living it out? I can have the best 'rescue' story in the world, but if I'm not living a Godly life here and now, what does it matter? Now, this isn't to say that your relationship with God always has to be perfect for your testimony to matter. But even through the difficult times, how are you putting in effort into the relationship? Are you still staying in the Word? I know a lot of times I've said, "Relationship with God isn't that great, I feel like I can't trust Him with this. But I know He's working, I just haven't seen it or understood it yet."
God, we're part of your story, not the other way around. You never said, "Invite me into your life." Instead you said, "Surrender your life. Then come, follow me" (Paraphrased, Matt 19:21). You invite us into this adventurous, and beautiful story of yours and thank you for that. I love you, Abba. Thank you.
With All My Love,
~Alyssa
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