Eric's Sunday Service; The Two Way Street of Love
Everybody yield
When to deliver.
Is it ever enough to just say “I love you”? You know what? Our first answer to this is no it is not enough. But let me tell you something true. Sometimes just hearing those words can lift a man up and make him stand taller. Here is the deal. We get through a tough day and just do the “have to’s”. Some days that is good enough. There is no brass band playing “Hail to the Chief” as you end your day. But you know what else? If you were in my world at the end of that day I would be standing there to tell you that I love you for all you do. I would not have done anything to lighten your burden for the day. Perhaps I even struggled through the day myself. But if I can muster up the gumption to let you know that you are loved by me then I can lift you up and that is good enough.
Life with love is good. Life without love is just so so. Now there are folks out there without someone who says I love you. My wife does not say it enough for me. She more does it by good works for me. And that is good enough. My son and I do not let a day go by without saying “I love you” to each other. And we also say it with action. Personally I prefer both deed and words. But I am a spoiled brat.
Say it and mean it!
I have a great big friend. He is older than me. And he led a tough and full life. He has pains in places I don’t even have the time to notice. And every time I see this friend he reminds me that “If nobody else told you this today, know that me and my God love you”. The big old gruff dude means it.
When anyone in my family talks on the phone to me, we end it with “I love you”. Like I said – except my wife. She just thinks that the words are cheapened if said too often. I think she is wrong. But bottom line there is that I know she loves me bunches and bunches. So maybe you are like that also. That is cool.
Now the whole point of all that is to say: Say it! I have this really busy brother and sometimes when I call him he picks up because he loves me even though he is meeting with someone important to his livelihood. We chat shortly and then it is time to say good bye and I say I love you. And he just can’t say that in front of his client or business associate. I had to think about that one for a while. Interesting isn’t it that sometimes we find ourselves in social settings where saying I love you would be inappropriate. Now don’t go all off on a tangent here and declare that it is always appropriate – it just is not. And that is a fact of life. But it tells us a whole lot about life with others. Just something to ponder as we take a break and listen to some music.
Such a Classic
We must be careful with the children
A little thought
I think that if anyone really takes a look at me they could tell my nose has been broken many times. You don’t get it that way by being loving. So I had a rather tough youth. Truth be told that when I was young fighting was not something to be ashamed of or arrested for. I won’t say we fought for sport, of forget it, we fought for sport. But a couple of those guys that busted my nose are now friends on Facebook. And when and if we saw each other we might even say I love you.
I am not always in a loving mood. Yes, just like you I often feel disconnected from love. I am downright critical of everyone and everything. Normally it grows to a point that I recognize it and I find that peaceful easy feeling PDQ. But not always. You would do well to leave me alone at those times and give me a wide berth as I walk by. Does that mean that you did something wrong or that I do not love you? No. We are all entitled to bad days from time to time. And that would also probably not be a good time to say “I love you” to me. So expressing love may need some discretion.
Teaching is an action of love
Indeed - What's love got to do with it?
Receiving the love
There are two sides to expressing love through action. The sender and the receiver. I firmly believe that if a spouse works their little derriere off in the home or at an outside job then that is sending love to the other spouse. I just see it that way. And that deserves respect and an I love you at the end and beginning of each day. But as you can see by this example, first we have to notice and receive the love. It is necessary for the love to be received properly.
Remember earlier we talked about me being in a really bad mood. And that that was not the time to proclaim your love for me. That is as more about my receiving love than it is about sending it inappropriately. So we cannot be a loving person if we go around unable to accept love. Love is a two way street.
Now let me say a word about this hybrid east/west philosophy that is going around. There seems to be this critical notion that we have to sustain ourselves wholly from within. Now do not get me wrong this concept has merit. We must find that inner love. We must nurture it. But never ever ever proclaim and think of it as the only love we need. For one it is an impossibility. And let me tell you why. We cannot survive without outside influence. That is obvious. Cut off all contact with the world and the very air you breathe will cease. Water and food come from without. And so does love. Even if you hate someone and they love you, you will somehow at some time feel the love. You may not like it, just like I don’t like it when I am in a sour mood, but you will feel it. Think of this one: even if you could cut off all influence from the outside world – the very vacuum that you would create would be the outside world.
The point there being is that we will feel the outside world so why not set our receptors on receiving the love. Just think this way, if all of your external “sensors” are set to receive love what could receive anything else. But notice here about receiving love. That does not mean we have to give it back. Sad but true.
I can't define love
Making our way with love
I have been around a bit so this comes from personal experience. Even the most despicable people in the world love someone or something. Even the most conflict ridden people in the world love something or someone. Even the most downtrodden and outcast person feels love for someone or something. (Now I make no such claim to seriously mentally ill or handicapped persons for I just do not know)
But 99.99% of people love. And a fun reality is that the same cannot be said for hatred. So in fact we can love the one we are with without shame or guilt because somehow in some way they feel it also.
I would be remiss to leave out a thought on God. I believe in the Biblical saying; “God is Love”. So I say to you, receive love, receive God.