Thankful...being in a state of gratitude for a large part of 2010 got me thinking about the concept of being thankful. I am thankful because I feel blessed. That is, I feel that I am receiving things I don't deserve and am experiencing joy in the ways I haven't felt before. That is, I know that I am not necessarily entitled to these blessings even if I were to somehow deserve them. That is, I feel like I can be at peace even if these rewards and joyful experiences should disappear (admittedly, I am not yet confident about this not having gone through the storm in the middle of a lake). Of course, each day is a huge blessing for which you and I should be thankful. It is important to keep that in mind in the remaining days of Holy Week.
Love...a concept that also has been on my mind, mainly from reading 1 John recently. Loving God, loving your significant other, loving your children, loving your parents--in all those instances, love means different emotions. But what is the underlying thing that binds all those emotions together under the definition of love? I struggled to understand what is the common thread, if any, in God's commandments to love my "brothers" and "enemies". When I looked at myself honestly and closely, I struggled even more so in understanding how I can love others in the way God wants us to, for I barely can love my friends without some strings attached and cannot really truly love my enemies. But as cliche as this may sound, Jesus' descent to our world as a human being and His death on the cross help me understand a tad bit. Absolutely nothing to gain, everything to lose, just for specks of dust. I still don't understand at all as to why, but it certainly should serve as the ultimate source of anything that we try to do in obeying His commandment to love others. For we are quite incapable of loving others the way the word "agape" is intended.
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