By: Erlinda Mejia Olson
JOHN 15:1-4 ~ "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me."
How much does love really mean to you? How far are you willing to push the envelope for love? How much are you truly willing to love someone? As the song goes, How Deep Is Your Love?
How deep is it really?
Just recently, my niece Sarah, has now became a married young woman to the man of her dream. I felt a pinch in my heart when we saw her walk down the isle. When the Pastor declared them as "husband and wife", we knew that very moment her life has changed. There was not a dry eye on that day. It was a perfect day for a summer wedding.
The wedding reminded me of a friend of mine who asked me a question: “If you found out that the person you love is a monster, would you still love them?” Now, that wasn’t the thought I would like to ponder for this newly married couple. But I won’t deny it, that question popped up in my brain. And it does, every time I see a man and a woman being married. But it’s a question worth pondering about if I have to think of all the weddings I have witnessed in my life including my own. For marriage requires a lifelong commitment. It's quite the test of finding out how far your love goes, isn't it?
On the other hand, if you loved a person for what they do, wouldn't that mean that if you found a certain deed that you didn't agree to, a monstrosity of some sort, wouldn't you find it difficult to live with it? Wouldn't it put a strain on that relationship? Would it really make a difference in knowing that the person you love was a monster, is a monster or capable of being a monster? Yes, it would. Maybe it wouldn't be so hard if you know what he did or was capable of doing before you budge yourself into the relationship. But if there was any consolation, if the relationship was true from the very beginning. No Pretentions. You would already know that part of their monstrosity. Just think about it, what makes us monsters in the eyes of the society? But the things we have done.
It's not the traits that we posses. People get prosecuted as a monster for what they did, not for whatever traits they had. So if this is true, then really, would it make a difference to know whether or not your significant other is unacceptable before the watching world? If you truly love them for all that they are—the whole package from the moment you understood who they are, not what they are. Then discovering what they can do or did, makes no difference at all.
I don't think it would matter to me to attempt to change the person I love because society doesn't like them. What's done is done. I can't change the past nor am I in any position to cast stones in that direction. I have no power. But God can.
It doesn't matter if the man I love is not a typical dream guy according to the world's standards. What matter is that I love the person that he is, for Christ died for him as well. What matter is that he accepts me for the monster that I am, for I am not perfect either. What matter is that you both know what love means—to love unconditionally, for God loves us all unconditionally. That's all there is to it.
JOHN 15:1-4 ~ "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me."
How much does love really mean to you? How far are you willing to push the envelope for love? How much are you truly willing to love someone? As the song goes, How Deep Is Your Love?
How deep is it really?
Just recently, my niece Sarah, has now became a married young woman to the man of her dream. I felt a pinch in my heart when we saw her walk down the isle. When the Pastor declared them as "husband and wife", we knew that very moment her life has changed. There was not a dry eye on that day. It was a perfect day for a summer wedding.
The wedding reminded me of a friend of mine who asked me a question: “If you found out that the person you love is a monster, would you still love them?” Now, that wasn’t the thought I would like to ponder for this newly married couple. But I won’t deny it, that question popped up in my brain. And it does, every time I see a man and a woman being married. But it’s a question worth pondering about if I have to think of all the weddings I have witnessed in my life including my own. For marriage requires a lifelong commitment. It's quite the test of finding out how far your love goes, isn't it?
On the other hand, if you loved a person for what they do, wouldn't that mean that if you found a certain deed that you didn't agree to, a monstrosity of some sort, wouldn't you find it difficult to live with it? Wouldn't it put a strain on that relationship? Would it really make a difference in knowing that the person you love was a monster, is a monster or capable of being a monster? Yes, it would. Maybe it wouldn't be so hard if you know what he did or was capable of doing before you budge yourself into the relationship. But if there was any consolation, if the relationship was true from the very beginning. No Pretentions. You would already know that part of their monstrosity. Just think about it, what makes us monsters in the eyes of the society? But the things we have done.
It's not the traits that we posses. People get prosecuted as a monster for what they did, not for whatever traits they had. So if this is true, then really, would it make a difference to know whether or not your significant other is unacceptable before the watching world? If you truly love them for all that they are—the whole package from the moment you understood who they are, not what they are. Then discovering what they can do or did, makes no difference at all.
I don't think it would matter to me to attempt to change the person I love because society doesn't like them. What's done is done. I can't change the past nor am I in any position to cast stones in that direction. I have no power. But God can.
It doesn't matter if the man I love is not a typical dream guy according to the world's standards. What matter is that I love the person that he is, for Christ died for him as well. What matter is that he accepts me for the monster that I am, for I am not perfect either. What matter is that you both know what love means—to love unconditionally, for God loves us all unconditionally. That's all there is to it.
"...for love will cover a multitude of sins." (1 Peter 4:8).I know you would find it hard to believe that there could still be someone out there that God has prepared for you, whose honest enough to share the truth about themselves.
But, I believed. And God helped me find the person who sees love the way I see it. Who believes in marriage the way I believe it. For God ordained it.
To have and to hold … from this day forward … for better or for worse … for richer or for poorer … in sickness and in health … until death do we part.
As the Lord Jesus commands us, ""As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."" (John 15:9-12)
Indeed, it is a beautiful journey to be married in Christ!
Song:
Indeed, it is a beautiful journey to be married in Christ!
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