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Life is what we make it to be. Each person creates their own
chapters of life by what they believe and by what they do with those beliefs
while they wait for the next transition of life, which is the eternal. We bring
purpose and meaning into our life when we value ourselves enough to take
responsibility for our spiritual, mental, and physical well-being.
I believe we have to value the person we are before we can
let go of our defenses and truly love another. It is absolutely imperative we
learn to love ourselves so we can become unselfish and that takes place when we
understand the spiritual self within us, or rather, recognize the spiritual
aspects of who we are. In my opinion, without God there is not meaning or
purpose to life.
God always takes a precedent in my life and that helps me to
be the person God meant for me to be. The minute I let go of God and rely on my
own understanding I begin to be unlovable and selfish. God is my lifeline to
life. It is through those I love and
care for that my life is made meaningful. My husband and children bring purpose
to my life. My friends, family and acquaintances all bring significance to my
life. They are part of the chapters in my life that brings me joy, contentment
and blessings. They are a part of my book. We all have a book. What is your
book?
If the meaning of life is to love then lets try and
understand what love is.
Love is patient, love is kind. 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 records of
wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with truth. (1 Corinthians
13:4-6 NIV)
When we write the chapters of our book according to what love is we bring
meaning into our life.
Love is Patient
Are you patient with others? When you are talking with someone do you
often interrupt and get bored with what they are saying? How often do you get
flustered and annoyed at people because they made a mistake, or they sinned?
Patience is a virtue of love.
Love is Kind
Are we being kind to others? Do we accept others for who they are? How
often do we become intolerant of another person’s views and faith just because
it is different than our own? We first need to love the person God made us to
be and then we need to be that person, so we can love others with kindness.
Love Does Not Envy
Do we envy what our neighbors have? When we look at what others have and
then compare their material possessions to what we have, it makes us jealous
and envious. But if we look into our hearts and realize we have the love of God
and we learn to become rich in that love, we stop comparing our lives to others
and we learn to have compassion for those who do not have the same kind of
spiritual love that we have. Material possessions will never stack up to what
is waiting for us in heaven!
Love is Not Rude
We are rude to others because we have not accepted ourselves. Are you
rude to yourself? How often do you treat yourself with disrespect by doing
things that sin against yourself? Having affairs, lustfulness, greed, envy,
pride, anger, etc, is not giving yourself the respect you deserve! We must
place God above everything else first, and base our life upon that Source, so
we can stop disrespecting the person we are and learn to love the person we
are. Then, and only then can we love another? Learning to love others is the
meaning for life that we are after here.
Love is Not Self-Seeking
How often do we try and gain our happiness from others? Is that not
being selfish? Why are we not happy just being who we are and what we are. Why
must we try and change and or control others for happiness? True happiness is
found from within the spirit of who we are. That means we must have a personal
and growing relationship with our Creator first so we can love others in the
proper ways!
Love is Not Easily
Angered
How often do you become angered and annoyed, towards yourself? Every
time you get angry, even at someone else, and you do not unleash that anger in
the proper ways, it stays within your spiritual and mental self. What does that
do to a person? It gives them a bitter filled heart and a spirit of
unhappiness. How can we love ourselves and others with an angry heart?
Love Keeps No
Records of Wrongs
Some of us hold records of wrongs against ourselves and not even know
it. That’s why we have a poor self-image, or why we are shy and withdrawn, or
why we have a hard time communicating or expressing ourselves properly. We have
not accepted the person we are. How can we accept others when we keep holding
in the wrongs of our past? We first
must forgive ourselves of our own wrongs before we can actually forgive
another.
Love Does Not
Delight in Evil But Rejoices in the Truth
What is the truth? Truth is the foundation of who we are as people. It
is the beginning of life and the end of death.
The truth will always set people free from themselves. The truth gives us the freedom within
ourselves to actually do the will of God, which ultimately frees us to love
others unconditionally. Consequently, that is the meaning of life.
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Angie Lewis
http://www.heavenministries.com
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