Love vs. Hate

So I was reading the blogs that some of my friends have, which are quite long and profound, and I got discouraged thinking that my blog could never be like that. Simple because I have nothing to say that is very profound. So I decided that this blog will not be like the other peoples blogs that are long and interesting. My blog will be short and boring. haha. I just thought I'd warn you for those of you unfortunate enough to be reading this.

I have many thoughts about many things. One thing that I can't stop thinking about is a book I read recently called The People of Sparks - the 2nd Book of Ember. It was a really good book, full of conflict and second guessing. How do I know this is the right thing? they would ask themselves. But it's not the conflict that interested me the most, it was the outcome.. and what they figured out in the end to be the solution.

And what is the solution? you might ask.

The solution in this book for all their conflicts is simply; Love.

As it says in Matthew 5:44 - "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you"

That seemed to be the theme for the whole book. I liked that very much. There is one part I really like... when the main girl character in the book finds out that she should love instead of hate. That love is far more powerful than hate.

In this part of the book the main girl character, Lina, is talking to another, older and wiser, girl, Maddy about this city that was destroyed because of hate and fear. Group A (as she calls it) would hurt group B, and then group B would get back at group A, etc, until there was nothing left.

"Can't it be stopped?" Lina asked

"Maybe it can be stopped at the beginning," Maddy said. "If someone sees what's happening and is brave enough to reverse the direction."

"How do you do that?" - Lina

"You'd do something good, or at least you'd keep yourself from doing something bad." - Maddy

"But how could you? When people have been mean to you, why would you want to be good to them?" - Lina

"You wouldn't want to, that's what makes it hard. You do it anyway. Being good is hard. Much harder than being bad." - Maddy

I can't stop thinking about this... And the part at the end when Lina overcomes her fear and anger to help the people she is angry with. I thought it had a very good moral.

Love no matter what.

I'd be thinking about this, and then I'd go and be impatient with my siblings.
That is not love.

What is love?

Well, in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 it says;

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

As you probably know... we cannot love like that. Ever.

But? How come we are required? And how can we accomplish something we cannot do?

We are required because our Holy God has high standards.

And we cannot accomplish this. That's why Jesus did :)

So this post turned out to be longer than I thought.

Thanks for reading!

Much love,

TessieB