I tend to overanalyze...alot...
Last sunday I went to church and I remembered why I stopped going in the first place. I have nothing against the pastor and why he speaks the way he does, nor do I think it is wrong to preach as long as the end result will lead people closer to God. Faith, after all plays an important role in all our lives whether we want to admit it or not.
My belief in the matter is that pastors or people who speak in front of a multitude have in more ways than one an effect in the listeners lives. They have to a greater or lesser degree an influence in the way people act their beliefs once they step out of church. With this in mind, they bear the burden of having to choose their words wisely. The sheep will always follow the shepherds voice especially those who are lost.
The pastor spoke of love and how a person should love according to the Bible. It was interesting to see how he tackled the issue of love. It was mostly based on the Bible which I believe spoke true about what love is. I was absently contemplating how the world would be a better place if everyone could follow this simple passage when I heard the pastor say love isn't a feeling. This broke me from my reverie.
I listened as he spoke of how love should not be a feeling but a will guided by the words of God. That parents should love their children by making them learn their mistakes. That to love your enemies means that you do it even if you don't want to...and that you can't eat love. I don't have much argument with the three former lines but the last one caught my attention. Does it mean that you should be practical in love? Is it truly Christian to love and worry about what you will eat when the Bible says do not worry about what you will eat and wear for the Lord will provide you all this and more? Is love to be a seperation of mind and heart? Then I started thinking more.
What about the story of the prodigal son? Does this mean that the father did not love his son by giving him everything and spoiling him and taking him back when he lost it all? Can you truly say you love one who has wronged you even if you think about what he has done to you and you only love him because you have to? Is love the act of thinking about the pros and cons rather than the act of sacrifice? Do we love to suffer or suffer to love?
I wonder if anyone can truly say what God's love is like. I would like to imagine it. The world is full of things that leave the imagination to interpret it and sometimes we inject a little bit of ourselves into what should simply just be. Faith is something people grab a hold onto because without it they have no guidance, no structure to their lives. It might be God's word you are preaching but it is you who they listen to. And if you tell them that love isn't a feeling, then what is?
My belief in the matter is that pastors or people who speak in front of a multitude have in more ways than one an effect in the listeners lives. They have to a greater or lesser degree an influence in the way people act their beliefs once they step out of church. With this in mind, they bear the burden of having to choose their words wisely. The sheep will always follow the shepherds voice especially those who are lost.
The pastor spoke of love and how a person should love according to the Bible. It was interesting to see how he tackled the issue of love. It was mostly based on the Bible which I believe spoke true about what love is. I was absently contemplating how the world would be a better place if everyone could follow this simple passage when I heard the pastor say love isn't a feeling. This broke me from my reverie.
I listened as he spoke of how love should not be a feeling but a will guided by the words of God. That parents should love their children by making them learn their mistakes. That to love your enemies means that you do it even if you don't want to...and that you can't eat love. I don't have much argument with the three former lines but the last one caught my attention. Does it mean that you should be practical in love? Is it truly Christian to love and worry about what you will eat when the Bible says do not worry about what you will eat and wear for the Lord will provide you all this and more? Is love to be a seperation of mind and heart? Then I started thinking more.
What about the story of the prodigal son? Does this mean that the father did not love his son by giving him everything and spoiling him and taking him back when he lost it all? Can you truly say you love one who has wronged you even if you think about what he has done to you and you only love him because you have to? Is love the act of thinking about the pros and cons rather than the act of sacrifice? Do we love to suffer or suffer to love?
I wonder if anyone can truly say what God's love is like. I would like to imagine it. The world is full of things that leave the imagination to interpret it and sometimes we inject a little bit of ourselves into what should simply just be. Faith is something people grab a hold onto because without it they have no guidance, no structure to their lives. It might be God's word you are preaching but it is you who they listen to. And if you tell them that love isn't a feeling, then what is?
posted by edmundsyap at 10:21 PM
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