On love, hate, and apathy...

In high school my teacher once asked the class, "What is the opposite of love?" Without hesitation I raised my hand,  and said, "Hate" pretty matter-of-factly. I was shocked that that, was not the answer he was looking for. He went on to explain that when you  love someone you think about them all the time, when you hate someone you think about them all the time, but when you just don't care about them anymore you never think about them. It was an interesting concept, and I wasn't quite certain I believed it. I mean I had always grown up believing the opposite of love was hate it just makes sense right? But then as I considered relationships I had seen I did notice in the case of love and hate there is always a bit of obsession and oddly enough people can go between the two rather fluently (when I say this I'm not saying every relationship but simply that I have seen people go from love to hate and back to love again. Which always blows me away. How is that even possible?) But when it comes to apathy or being apathetic, there's not much more that can be done. Once a person reaches the state of apathy it is rare they will ever come back. I wish life wasn't so complicated and that we could all love each other like Christ. That would be amazing... However on this side of heaven it's just not reality. You can't make someone care about you. You can't make yourself "special" in their eyes. You can't make someone forgive you and move on. Although you can't do those things you can work on your own heart. Never grow apathetic! A very dear friend prayed this for me, that my heart would never grow apathetic (it is a prayer I've echoed countless times). I want to forgive just as I have been forgiven and Love just as I  have been loved by God and desire to be loved by others. Apathy is defined as lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern.  And it is a very dangerous place to be especially in regards to the world. As Christians we are called to love. That love is first and foremost unto God but secondly we are called to love others. (Not to be so disgusted with how lost the Lost are that we can't love on them as Christ did) I feel as though that is the condition of church. We are so stuck on making ourselves look good that we are afraid of reaching out.  I just want to end on this verse, it's Matthew 9:36 this the NIV version "When he(Jesus) saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." In the literal translation it says he was moved with compassion. As you dig into the Greek you will find that the description of being moved with compassion is literally saying your stomach tied in knots. If that is how Jesus felt when he looked over a crowd that is how I want to feel as well. May we always have compassion may we be moved with it to action.... Today, lets let the love of Christ compel us.

Fit For A King...

I a good friend of mine shared this song with me and... I don't have words for how incredible it is  so you just have to listen to it... Listen to it carefully to each word. Let it resonate in your soul.

I love the ocean. (I love a lot of things haha Mountians, Snow, CORN FIELDS! just to name a few)  but the Ocean holds a certain sense of freedom that is breath taking. It just doesn't compare to anything really...  When I was a kid I used to rush into the waves and "body surf" I thought I was pretty cool and all. My cousins and I had special moves for each wave like the "Superman" or the "Flip" haha but one of my favorites was what I called the "Rag doll". I literally would relax my body and let the wave just carry me... It would throw me around, tossed and twirled, I wouldn't even know which way was up! But I loved it. I would hold my breath *big cheeks and all; then  I would just wait. I would wait for all to be calm before I could pop back up and take a breath. Sometimes it was more like a gasp for air right before the next wave took me under!

   Sounds crazy right? yup that's me. Now I'm 24 years old. I'm still shocked that I've made it thus far... lol Anyway as I was sitting here reliving that ocean experience  remembering the weightlessness remembering the uncertainty and the rush of it all I couldn't help but relate it to how I feel right now. Life has its up and downs and there are times when you wont even know which way is up. But for as much as I feel like everything is uncertain I do know who carries me, and I do know He wont let me go. Just as the ocean surrounded me then he surrounds me now. His presence (penaii) bring the most joy the most freedom I have ever felt. And what a rush it is to live like this... (It's not always easy and I have had my share of doubts) but God has always proven faithful even when I am not. (Thank you Jesus... for everything)