…is what I say to myself in my most cynical moments. People like me don’t like saying things beyond what we can actually prove or verify or believe because it feels fake. But there is a “hope” aspect of love/commitment/faith (or perhaps, it is inherent to specifically humans’ experience of love/commitment/faith from God) that inherently goes beyond what is known and seen. A loving word that ends at what is seen and merited is not really the love anyone is looking for, which is why when we encourage others we sprinkle in a little bit of exaggeration, or maybe we smile more than we actually feel or say things more firmly than we actually believe.
But this kind of speech is not mere flattery for Christians, since our hope for others is not in vain; it is secured in the power of God to make good on the hopes and promises he gives us. So our expressions of love/commitment/faith go beyond what is seen, because they describe a future reality. And they do not just describe a future reality- they actually are part of the mechanism by which that future is actualized. Only when we love and commit and have faith beyond what the current state of affairs is, can we create an environment where people feel safe and secure enough to be able to grow to become more worthy of the love and commitment and faith that they have been given. This is how God loves us. He calls us “mighty warrior” and “mother and father of many nations” before there is any visible sign that this will ever come to pass. This is love, not that we loved God, but he loved us and gave himself for us while we were still sinners and unrighteous and unworthy. Beloved, if God so loved us, then so we ought to love one another.
daisyhtoo liked this glitterboo199 reblogged this from mrsaturn101
estherthingss liked this dbecksta liked this
lawrenceyong liked this
mailakue liked this littleliight liked this
mrsaturn101 posted this