"Love is not love which altereth when it alteration findeth" - Shakespeare
The above quote is not in plain English so i can't know the exact meaning in the author's mind. However, I have seen some translations on the net and the most comprehensive is one that says "Love is not Love when it changes in the face of adversities/challenges" i.e. Love is not really love if it changes when things change.
We mistake the word Love for many things, desire, lust, want, attraction, attachment, and so on. These things are the points to which the arrow of the flesh is directed at.
Love isn't a small phenomenon. The Bible tell us "GOD IS LOVE". Unless we see God as a small being or we feel those things we do to others or wish for others that are not done in good faith are of God, we must not see love as an act of will but as a way of life.
When in Pain, Love can relieve us. How? When we live in Love, we come under God's promises. He surrounds us with His unending Love which He showed in the Large extent by sending Jesus to suffer and die so we may live and live happily in Christ. Isaiah 53:4 says "Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted" Christ took our pain away, and now we are to live without pain IF and WHEN we come under the canopy of His word by Living a true CHRISTIAN life.
When in Confusion Love can help us focus. How? God is not a God of confusion He knows the future for us before he made us. He set a path for us and though we stray at times, as long as we return and stay under his umbrella, He will direct our path. A believer will not be confused IF he/she trusts God with ALL HIS/HER HEART (Prov 3:5) the bible says in 1st Corinthians 14:33 "For God is not a God of confusion, but of peace. As in all the assemblies of the saints" So all who are in His presence, cannot be confused because His word is our guide and He has given it to us in form of the Holy Bible.
When in bondage, Love can set us free. How? People of all religions pray in prisons. They give their lives to Christ and commit to religious faiths in Prisons. The reason is mainly because they have seen fulfillment in God. In Christianity, we can use the story of Paul and Silas in Acts 16. The Bible said the prayed and sang. How can people sing when they should be worried about their freedom from jail. They sang, because they had assurance that everything will be alright. And you know, everything became alright. The Prison Guard even pleaded for them to help him get saved. Wow. God's Love set His people FREE. Bondage whether it be physical or spiritual, the battlefield is in the true chains are in our minds and when we let God renew our minds, we become absolutely free.
When Troubled, Love can calm us down. How? There's a bracelet in a Comedy American Movie (Madea's Series) on the bracelet it says "WWJD" meaning WHAT WOULD JESUS DO? Jesus didn't condemn people because he was the embodiment of Love, God's Love. He would embrace the Children (Matt 19:14), He would pardon the Adulteress (John 8:7), He would touch the leper He would dine with the multitude, He would sit with the woman from Samaria (John 4:7), He would heal anyone regardless of their origin (Luke 7) So the person who wore that bracelet meant to use it to calm her temper and do just like Jesus would do when troubled. Now, That is a Christian. Someone who does what Jesus would do. When there was storm in the Middle of the sea, Christ was calm (Matthew 8:24-26). Because He had the assurance within. The world outside did not overwhelm Him. That is what True love does. It knows no fear or insecurity, it has absolute assurance and trust in God's power and will.
When hungry, Love can fill us. (Matthew 14:15-20)
When dying, Love can give us life. (John 10:10)
The word of God is something that is alien to people who don't understand. When people say there is Joy in the Lord, Peace in the Lord, Comfort, wealth, love and life in the Lord, people start to wonder "How can saying a name or a prayer change everything? How can going to church make me a better person? How can loving others and giving to them make me richer, happier and more fulfilled when it reduces my share of possessions " My answer to these rests on one fact; As children of God, we are all work in progress! God lets us pass through this and that, not because he wants us to suffer and die, Jesus already suffered for us. But because he wants us to learn and get good understanding. To learn till we are perfected. "The path of the Just is like a shining light that shines brighter and brighter till the perfect day" A man that gives beyond his comfort does so because he feels free when giving. Is there better freedom than the freedom from the slavery of our minds? Freedom that let's us know that nothing is stronger than us WHEN WE ARE IN CHRIST and nothing can destroy us because we are heirs of an indestructible Father. Freedom that assures us of continuous blessings and no lack, of Joy in communion and no selfishness, of Happiness in His words and not excitement in Material things. When we love truly, we become detached from things. Our minds start to tell us don't worry about it, just watch out for the miracle and testimony of God's glory once again.
Let us try as much as we can to focus on God's Love. God's Love is explained very much in the bible in 1st Corinthians 13:4-7 "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud, or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out, Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance."
My Hope for us today is that we learn to Love like our Father. His Love is perfect, Pure Love.
Bless you.
Love, from Mona
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