Apple Pie

I remember now why I always get cherrie when I go to McDonald's... it's because I really just don't like the apple... but I got two accidentally, anyone want one? :P

So there's a subject that has been making my fingers itch for a while... I've been drafting it in my head for days now, so I'm going to finally type it out, I'm glad you folks don't mind being subjected to this kind of thing. :)

In the church we joke about how one of the most dangerous prayers you can pray is "Lord, give me patience." It's dangerous because God answers, usually with a "okay, sure!", but He doesn't do so in the way we want Him to. Usually He gives patience by putting us in situations that require us to exercise it--you know what I'm talking about. Someone in our life that's exceedingly annoying, losing a job & having to wait on Him to bring the right one into our lives, etc. He treats patience like any other muscle, & in order to gain more we must first develop what we have--however miniscule that amount may be.

I grew up in the church hearing the "horror stories" from people who had prayed for patience, so I know better. If God sees fit to increase my portion of patience I will let Him decide when to do that--I'm not asking for it!! But I think I've discovered some prayers more dangerous by far.

They are two, and I admit, I was warned. But I dared to pray them anyway.

Lord-my-Love, teach me to love like You do.

God-my-King, teach me to see people the way You see them.

Crazy, right? Who in their right mind prays that?!

Then again... when was the last time I was in my right mind? ;)

Pray for wisdom, pray for understanding, pray for a teachable spirit, to know God's will, to be assured of His love, to be an encourager, pray for other people, intercede for the masses & your country, but pray to love like He does, to see like He does? That's madness!

And so very worth it.

His love is so amazing that even being able to understand the merest shadow of it is breathtaking!

I may bore you church kids with this, but bear with me, yeah? 1 Corinthians 13 in the New King James Version reads thus:

"1. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become as sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
2.And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
3. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
4. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;
5. does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;
6. does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;
7. bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.
9. For we know in part and we prophecy in part.
10. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.
11. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
12. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.
13. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love."

A whole chapter, devoted to describing love & its excellence. I know it's traditionally read at weddings, and all that blahblahblah... but Paul wrote it originally to the church in Corinth, not to a couple. This love he's describing is not meant to be restrained to the love shared between marriedish folk, it's supposed to be a love shared by God's people within the Church & without, yeah? Sooo... wow, can you imagine if it was?

I mean, seriously, look at this crazy kind of love. It's kind in the midst of suffering--no matter how long it suffers it never stops being kind in return. This love does not envy--it doesn't feel resentful or spiteful at seeing other people's success, it's happy for them instead. Love does not parade itself--I believe some other translations read that it doesn't brag about itself. It is not puffed up, thinking no more of itself than it ought. Love does not behave rudely, it's always polite. It doesn't seek its own, but is always thinking of how to benefit others. It's not provoked--this could be helped by not being puffed up, it's hard to make someone angry if they are truly humble. It thinks no evil--perhaps always giving someone the benefit of the doubt, extending grace & mercy to those who do not deserve it. Love does not rejoice in iniquity--sin, wickedness, bad things we do, for the benefit of those who don't speak churchese--but instead rejoices in the truth. This relationship between love & truth is important, I'll get back to it later, but keep it in mind. Love bears all things, nothing can make it stop. Love believes all things, not in a gullible fashion, but in keeping with wisdom & thinking no evil & rejoicing in truth. Love hopes all things, recognizing that with God, all things are possible. It endures all things, no matter the pain inflicted upon it, it persists.

Love never fails.

I wish my love was like this. I would like to think it's getting there, but some days I have to wonder. Some of these things sound like I could say "yeah, that's me". But others... I'm so far away from some of the others.

And without this love? Everything is worthless. It really doesn't matter how good I am, what I do, what I know, even who I know is pointless if I don't have this love. Everything about me will fade away, except for what is done in love. Someone said once that "no one cares what you do, all they'll remember is how you made them feel."

I want to make them feel loved.

1 John is a book that kind of mystified me for a while, so naturally I became obsessed with trying to figure it out. Then I figured out that I will never have the Bible all figured out, but I still tried! 1 John does reveal a lot upon further study that was completely hidden to me the first few times I read it.

The main thing that mystified me was the very last verse. The whole book seems to be about love, and what it looks like, how to discern perfect from imperfect love, etc. Then the last verse seems to pop out of no where: "Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen."

I mean seriously, what?!

Love, truth, love love love, overcomers, truth, love & truth, truth & love, oh & stay away from those idols kids, bye.

???

(Maybe you're smarter than me & this is one of those "duh Rachel, gosh" moments for you... if it is, well... go read some other blog! :P okay, no really, just bear with me, please?)

I read it, I circled all the times "love" came up, I underlined "truth", I drew little arrows to all the "therefores" (you know, to see what the therefore is there for... sorry, it had to be said), highlighted "overcome" in blue, highlighted every mention of God in gold, I mean I seriously dissected this book trying to figure this out!

Then it hit me, & I honestly felt like an idiot for it taking so long.

John calls the kind of love described in 1 Corinthians 13, God's love, "Perfect love". He has a lot to say about it too, for being one of the smaller books in the Scriptures, 1 John uses the word "love" 46 times, mind you that's my own imperfect count based on NKJV, but still, that's a lot for 5 chapters! One thing he had to say about it really hit home with me though. It came in 1 John 4:18.

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love."

Wow.

No fear. Idolatry? Any love that does not originate in God or focus on Him brings fear with it. Whether it is inflicting fear on others or on oneself, bent love is fearful. Back to 1 Corinthians 13, perfect love has no need to fear, it hopes all things, believes all things, bears all thing, and it never fails. No matter what happens, that Love is unafraid.

But it is very easy, extremely easy, for love to become bent--unless I am constantly on my guard against that. And that's where the idols come in. Love has a very close relationship to truth--"truth", or some derivation of the word, is used at least 18 times in these 5 chapters (again, that's just my amateur count)--and perfect love cannot be seperated from the truth.

Perfect love sees the truth in the object of its love, and persists in loving. Not only does it love "in spite of" the truth about the beloved, it rejoices in the truth it sees!! But just being able to see the truth is not enough, the truth needs must be seen and spoken in love, otherwise it is twisted. I might even go so far as to say the truth about someone can't be recognized except by Love.

But I was talking about the idols too. Human nature is a nature that needs something to worship. Even when it claims to not believe in anything worthy of worship it ends up worshipping something--like itself. Love is something desired by everyone, but without the truth it leads to idolatry. If love is not perfected in the Truth, it can go very wrong.

So when John warned: "keep yourselves from idols", it seems to fit a little better after recognizing how easily perfect love can fall to imperfection.

Anyhoo... That's probably not the last I'll write on this, but that's all for tonight. I need to go home & let the poor dog outside. :)

Don't get mauled by bears!