I don't think I've ever put in as much time thinking about (Eros) love as I did today. I feel like I'm still too young (and maybe immature) to know what love really is. One idea that I had never thought about until listening to CS Lewis today in class was the fact that we need to love people. This seems like such a simple concept and yet it can be terribly hard. It's easy for us to love the pleasure or happiness a person can bring to us, but not the person themselves. This concept was a great reminder for me in my own life. I need to appreciate and love the people around me for who they are, not for what they can do for me.
Out of the whole discussion today, one quote stood out to me. It went something like this, "love ceases to be a demon when love ceases to be a god". At first I didn't completely understand what that meant... but as I thought about it longer, a light bulb came on. Especially for people who don't know the Lord, love towards someone/something or even love itself can consume a person and become their number one priority. When this happens, love becomes a god. In this context love is a demon because it takes the place of the real Lord and distracts us from what truly matters. Love in the right context is a beautiful thing, created by God and meant to be enjoyed. But one must be cautious that it doesn't replace the Creator of love Himself.
Finally, Lewis ends with a beautiful picture of love (passion). He describes it as a garden that provides life, happiness, and beauty. He does add one word of caution though.. he reminds the listener that you can't expect the garden to weed and take care of itself. The gardener needs to tend and look after it. The same goes for love. It takes hard work, patience, and persistence to keep a healthy 'love' relationship going but if you stick with it, the end result will be magnificent and well worth the effort.
I don't know about you, but I found the discussion today to be emotionally draining, as well as intellectually. I can talk philosophy and theology for hours. But love hits home: it's something that is so much a part of us that we can't help but getting into things on a deeper level with these types of discussions.
ReplyDeleteI liked your reference to the garden. I wish Lewis had included that part in the book (I think he includes it later, but it works really well with the Eros imagery). "It takes hard work, patience, and persistence to keep a healthy 'love' relationship going." So true. So true.
I was also challenged by the point of needing to love people, recognizing their personal values and goodness of who they really are. Especially as I've moved a lot over the past few years, relationships with other people almost get to that point of existing because of what they can do for me in a short amount of time rather than giving them some good Agape. This is something we should never forget to do, Jesus commanded it.
ReplyDeleteYes! Loving hits home and is hard for all of us - as most love/loving is tainted by fall and sin it is sometimes hard to see the original colors through the mist.
ReplyDeleteMay we all learn to as He, our Creator, had intended us to love!
adriana
number 1 priorities happen frequently, and it really is too bad. It's interesting to decipher what is actually a healthy and unhealthy relationship, and then apply that to your life. In a way, Lewis is just giving another check point to eliminate a little more sin from each of our lives.
ReplyDeleteGood job. The point you made about love becoming a god is so important. I'm glad you brought it up. Love and relationships is one of the most important things (if not the most important) in life, and the bible even says this. BUT, you're right we need to be careful that our love for people or for our lover does not become more important to us than God - the one who created it!
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