As I sit here at my computer reflecting on these verses, I realize that I spend a lot of time trying to learn new things and then implement what I've learned in effective ways. But, in the end, says verse 8, knowledge will pass away.
How much I learn holds almost no interest for my family members. They don't ask me what I learned today. I suspect what they really want to know is whether or not my heart is turned toward them. That can morph into selfishness, of course. However that's what I want to know from my family members too. Deep down, I want to know if their hearts are turned towards me, if they love me. Am I loved?
Is there something deep and perhaps buried in each of us that yearns to hear, "I love you"? I suspect that, for some, this yearning is so deeply buried that it appears to not exist at all.
Kathy quoted a statement to me yesterday that I've been thinking about fairly constantly. It's from author Brennan Manning who's writings are penetrating. He said that he is absolutely convinced that God will ask one question of us, and one question only, when we meet him face to face. That question is "Did you know that I love you?". In that question and answer lies ultimately all of life. Maybe it is the difference between life and death.
I ask the same question at times, "Am I loved?" I wonder if my fiance really loves me, if my dad really loves me, if anyone really loves me. And I have recently decided that I am not going to continue asking myself that question and be more focused on showing everyone else love. I am also focusing more on knowing God loves me and even if no one else in this world ever really loves me or not, God does and that is all I need. Yes, its nice to feel loved and wanted and appreciated by those who are around us everyday, but in the end we will be with our Father, whose love is the greatest of all.
ReplyDeleteI will admit I still ask at times "does God really love me? How can He love me after all I have done in my life?" But He shows me the answer through all His wonderful Grace, mercy, and blessings in my life. I know I am loved!
For me, the same zinger question will be worded "Did you LIVE like you knew I love you?" The difference being the head knowledge versus the heart knowledge.
ReplyDeleteI think it correlates to your previous posts about family and you've been describing the same thing I am. I am reminded of the downward spiral described in Romans 12:21-32. At the start, if you neither glorify God nor give thanks to him, your heart will be darkened.
When I thank God and glorify him for the family he has given me, my heart is lightened towards them and I feel like I show more of the love to them that they deserve and need.