to-my-dearest

[to-my-dearest]

[to-my-dearest]

Day 16: What Matters Most

LOVE

           Four letters which is easy to pronounce but difficult to understand; hard to define and only few people have the ability to express it in such a way that God wants us to do. Difficult to learn but is imperative to follow because that is what matters most; that is one of the reasons why we were created in this world. To love, give love, express love and be real to what we are doing to God’s people.

           Personally, today’s topic gives me some excitement. Excitement in such a way that God is teaching me the real meaning of love. Di ko man siya ma-define exactly through words but my heart can feel it and my mind could understand. After doing some analysis, I realized that all these years, I was being blinded by the kind of earthly love which I believe in. True love, genuine love is something that more than words could say. It must be felt. It must be shared. It must be expressed. It must be done without expecting anything in return. It is not the kind of love which we can give and receive from the opposite sex. It is more than that. It is more than money, flowers and chocolates. Because God is love. Because life and living here on earth is all about love and how can we give love to ourselves and to other people. Hmmm siguro kaya ako nagkaroon ng recurring pattern of heartbreaks before is because I have the wrong notion of love. I have the wrong way of receiving and giving of love from the people that surrounds me.

           Then what is love?

           In 1 John 1:16, love means living the way God commanded us to live. As you have heard from the beginning, his command goes like this: Live a life of love. Everything should revolve in his commands. And what are His commands? If you are going to read the Bible, there are numbers of commands that He wants us to do but here are few of those which I learned since I started doing my devotion. First, build a relationship with him by establishing and maintaining a stable connection and talking to him consistently. This will only be possible if we put Him as our top priority all the time of the day through prayers. A small prayer will do every moment. This act will remind us that we are and will never be alone because there is God whom we can lean on all the time. God who will never leave and will keep his promise until the end of time.

           The second command is this, treat this life as temporary assignment. We are only but a foreigner in this world. All of us have a very limited time to spend here since GOD just let us live here for only a few hours, days, years he only knew. Therefore, we should do what should be done. We should focus on the positive things, ideas and actions. It may be very difficult but nothing is impossible only if we believe in it. Only if we trust the Lord.

           The third command is to love others as you love yourself. That is from Galatians 5:14. The question here is how? What if those other people are difficult to love? What are we going to do? Are we still going to give them love even though they do not deserve or are not entitled to? The answer is a big yes. We are not on the position to dictate who are the deserving one and not. Therefore, no matter how difficult it could be, we should try harder to love them because Jesus said, “Your strong love for each other will prove to the world that you are my disciple”. And this kind of love should not be just in words and talk. It must be shared through actions. It must be felt. There should be an end product that will be received by the receiver. It should be seen. There should be evidence presented or is visible to the concerned people. Words without action is nothing but an imagination. A thing without an evidence is a lie. A quote is just a combination of letters without you performing it. Lastly, always do good for the needy. Never let them wait until tomorrow if you have the ability to help them now (Proverbs 3:27). True love is not passive. True care is not passive either. We should not waste any moment or opportunity of showing, expressing and sharing love to other people because we can never tell until when we can do that. Some may only have ten years left, some have just weeks, some have just hours left that only God knows.

           Truly, love is a complicated thing. It is indeed because most of us are not equipped with the lessons that we should learn in our lives. Lessons that will transform us to do and value the most essential thing; to love. Love that is selfless. Love that is attention and time-seeking but more of giving and forgiving. But despite all the complexities, love is the most rewarding thing we could ever give and receive.

 John 13:35

Jesus said, “Your strong love for each other will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

 1 John 3:18

My children, our love should not be just words and talk; it must be true love, which allows itself in action.

 Proverbs 3:27

Whenever you possibly can, do good to those who need it. Never tell your neighbor to wait until tomorrow if you can help them now.  

[to-my-dearest]

Day 4: Made To Last Forever

“Walang Forever!”

           Honestly, I can’t remember how many times I used this line before to refer to couples that I saw in social media, along the street or even at the mall. I felt some jealousy and a little bit of envy that leads me to ask a childish question of “Why not me?”. I began to question myself about my worth, my ability and capabilities of having someone on my side.

After reading today’s scripture, I realized that it is true that there is no forever in the outside. “Walang forever kung hahanapin natin ito sa iba. Hindi talaga natin ito makikita because God planted eternity in the human heart. Masyado pala akong nabulag sa makamundong kahulugan ng forever. Mostly, may forever kapag kumpleto yung family nyo, may forever kapag may pera kayo, may forever kapag may boyfriend or girlfriend ka, may forever kapag may successful career ka. I was wrong. Mali pala yung interpretation ko ng kahulugan ng forever. Forever already exists even before we became curious with it, even before we asked for it. Forever exist even before we were born. Forever exists in our hearts because God planted it to a place where no one can steal it. God’s love is forever, eternal and continuously flowing. I am truly grateful that at this moment, God enlightened me on his definition of forever. Kaya pala wala akong forever na makita, nasa puso ko pala.

My second reflection today lies in God’s eternal plan and purpose. Sabi nga, God’s plan is absolute. What’s meant for you will be yours effortlessly. What’s not meant for you will never be yours in the first place. Trust to his will is the key.

My third reflection is about comprehending and realizing that there is more to life than here and now. May mas importante pa kung ano ang nararanasan natin ngayon, yung struggles natin today, yung pain natin, yung mga challenges. Balewala lahat ng yun compare sa plano satin ni Jesus Christ. The real start of life is not the day when we were born but the day we begin to know Jesus. The day we begin to be like him. The day we start doing things in accordance with his command. The day when we begin to do things that will lead us to heaven where we can receive the eternal love of God. Love that is not cruel. Love that is not selfish. Love that is not boastful but patient, forgiving and full of trust.  

  Ecclesiastes 3:11 NLT

God has planted eternity in the human heart.

 Psalm 33:11 TEV

God’s plan endure forever;

           His purpose last eternally.