My friend attends a weekly Men’s Bible Study. Recently, the topic of the small group discussion was the Similarity between God’s relationship with man, and the relationship between a man & a woman. The comments were as diverse as the marriages (and divorces) of the men in the room.
Near the end of the discussion, my friend told the following story about his Wedding Day:
On our Wedding day, my wife gave me a hand-written note. It read,
“On her Wedding day, a bride must choose between the two men that she wants to marry: One man is flawed, with good traits and bad. The other is a man she will try to change into the husband, with whom she wants to spend the rest of her life.”
My friend’s wife wrote, “I choose you, “As Is”, to be my husband for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, ‘till death do us part.”
My friend replied to his wife, “I am the luckiest man on the face of the earth.”
My friend kept his wife’s note in his dresser drawer for 47 years. It’s yellow and faded, with frayed edges, but its value increases every day.
Likewise, although God created man in His Image & Likeness, God gave man Free Will. Satan exists. Man Sinned. And the perfect relationship with God was broken. But God so loved the world, that He sent His Only Son (Jesus) to become man and die on the Cross to forgive all men all their sins. So, The perfect relationship between God & man was restored, with God Accepting Man, “As Is”. All Man has to do is accept God’s Love (by Believing in God) and love others as Christ loves him.
All relationships are about Love. Love is Less about Moonlight & Balconies, and More about Patience & Acceptance. Love is about the sacrifice of sharing all you have, of giving all who you are, expecting nothing in return. The Counter-Intuitive, Cosmic Formula about Love is: “AS IS”
The discussion room’s silence was broken by the minister who asked, “May I use your story at my Wedding Ceremonies?”
The Above YouTube Music Video Captures the Essence of this Blog Post’s Message about Love:
BTW: “Sacrifice” does not mean “Loss”. The word “sacrifice” comes from two Latin words – Sacri Faciam: “To make holy”. The rich, full essence of love is holy. That’s love’s Mystical Beauty.
That functional definition of Love is counter-intuitive to today’s culture of “What’s in it for me?” The more we focus on selfish wants, the more we wail, “Is that all there is?” Or, “Who moved my Cheese?” Our wants are Plus One, whatever we have, never fulfilled, and always in excess of our “Daily Bread“. Shakespeare expressed the futility of a selfish life as, “A life full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. A life that struts and frets its hour upon the stage, to be heard, no more.”
My friend’s wife’s unconditional love “As Is” was the thread that sewn two hearts together, forever. Paradoxically, loving a husband “As Is” transforms a husband to willingly want to be a better man. The man a wife so devoutly wished for on her Wedding Day.
If we loved each other as God loves us, we would find the Joy that we are seeking.
The Above YouTube Music Video is another Expression of the Essence of this Blog Post’s Message
Unconditional “As is” Love reaps incalculable ROI (Return on Investment). It’s timeless…and priceless.
I am looking forward to reading this on a regular basis. The first message already made my heart even more grateful. Thank you for sharing these thoughts and experiences.