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Wednesday, September 14, 2005
You Invade My Soul
In the classic teen romance movie "Say Anything," there's a scene that reminds me so much of society's idea of love.
The scene starts out with Lloyd (played by a young John Cusack) warning an acquaintence, Joe, not to "mess with her head." See, he has a friend, who is Joe's old girlfriend. Joe's old girlfriend has "written 65 songs this year, Joe. They're all about YOU. They're all about PAIN. She's a human being, man. She's fun and she's talented."
Joe: "I know. Why do you think I keep all her tapes? They're going to be valuable someday."
Earlier, Joe's old girlfriend had said that if she runs into Joe at the party she's only going to say, "Hi, Joe. How are ya?" and keep walking. She spends most of the party playing those 65 songs about Joe...pretty much depressing the listening partygoers.
Later at the party, while she's on a break from depressing everyone, she's at the fridge getting a soda. Joe comes into the kitchen and she says, "Hi, Joe. How are ya?" Immediately followed by, "I love you."
He says, "I love you, too." She follows it up with, "You invade my soul."
She has her emotions all tied up in this relationship. Joe tells her that his current relationship is on shaky ground and he's going to break up with her. When she hugs him, he says, "Have sex with me, okay?"
She's devastated. She says, "Goodbye, Joe." and leaves the room.
But, he said the words, "I love you." It was evident from his actions, both to Lloyd and to her that the reality is that he didn't love her.
How's one to know if someone loves them? What is love? Can you love spaghetti or the new rock band and Jesus and your parents and all that?
Well, 1 Corinthians 13: 4--8 gives us an excellent description of love. It follows from yesterday's lesson that if you're using all your spiritual gifts but don't have love, it's really just a lot of noise. So, Paul feels it necessary to define what love is:
"Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brad and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek it's own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails..."
So, first of all, love is patient. The Message says that love "never gives up." It's pretty cool that God never gives up on us no matter how silly we get in our thinking or our actions.
Next, love is kind. The Message says it cares more for others than for self. God did that for us...pouring out His diety to take on humanity for one purpose: To seek and save that which was lost.
Love is not jealous. The Message says that it doesn't want what it doesn't have. God loves us so much that He gave us a free will to either choose or reject Him. He never forces us to choose Him or His ways and he gives us freedom.
Finally, for today, love doesn't brag or is arrogant. The Message says that love doesn't strut. God was the opposite of a braggart or arrogant. He took the form of servant and was obedient unto death, even death on a cross.
Yes, the correlation I'm trying to make is obvious: Jesus embodied agape love...a love for which no sacrifice is too great. And, He's the model of what human love should look like on a day to day basis.
So, for today, can you give evidences of true love you've seen lately based on the words we camped on today? How have you seen someone be patient? Kind? Lacking jealousy? Being humble?
Brent 4:16 AM
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