Guaranteed, I am not a scholarly source for all the world's religions, but I like to fancy myself as knowing a thing or two about Christianity, in particular. I believe that God has an earnest desire to create and know us, and, as such, His love for us is also earnest.
Earnest
- meaning: (noun) a thing intended or regarded as a sign or promise of what is to come; (adjective) resulting from or showing sincere and intense conviction
- synonyms: serious, intense, committed, dedicated, diligent, zealous, thoughtful, profound, devout, fervent, ardent, urgent, sincere, impassioned, genuine, firm, resolute, determined, wholehearted, and purposeful!
Not only is God's love ALL of those things for us, but our love IS CALLED to be that for GOD AND EACH OTHER!
Somehow, I always knew that, but it isn't always something I've lived. We all lose our way, and for me, that was pretty much high school (or at least the end of freshman year through fall of senior year). Somewhere along the time I started reading and interviewing sources for my senior thesis, I realized I wasn't actually mad at God and everyone else around me, I was just upset I wasn't in control of what happened in my life during those years, and hurt because I didn't understand God's purpose or plan at the time- a hard thing to admit for an OCD, organized, control freak like myself. There's a lot I still don't understand, but none of that mattered once I came to understand that, despite everything else, God's love is always good. Needless to say, my life has changed a lot in the last 6 years, and I know there is a lot more change coming, so I've felt compelled to document my life for a while now (years, sadly), with no motivation what-so-ever to keep a diary, I'm hoping blogging will help hold me accountable.
Living a life of love has been easy most of my life, but purposeful love is different. It's not just dedicated, it's conscious. This past year has been interesting to say the least (but I'll get into that in another post), and it is what will make next year a struggle. A struggle to keep my eyes on our ultimate goal, and not get lost or overwhlemed in the details.
Like our parents before us, we have chosen to share our blessed life with children. In our case, children who are not our own, but who we will love, respect, and protect as if they were. That's right, DEAR HUSBAND (referred to as DH) & I ARE GOING TO BE FOSTER PARENTS!!! We start officially training in January, or so we've been told, no official date has been released yet (so, keep up with us here to stay in the loop).
Article: www.patheos.com/blogs/christiancrier/2013/06/12/10-most-important-bible-verses-on-love
* Whether or not you are a fan of religious blogs, these are 10 verses everyone should know by heart*
John 3:16
John 15:13
Matthew 5:43-45
1 Corinthians 12:4-8
Mark 12:30-31
John 13:34-35 ("...By this all people will know that you are my disciples...", - gets me every time)
John 14:15
1 Peter 4:8
Proverbs 17:17
Genesis 29:20
