love, without strings
i often hear in conversation how “God loves me despite my imperfections” or “it’s okay i’m not perfect,” and “i never will be.”
while certainly it is true we are loved without any stipulations, and one of the most beautiful aspects of this world are every individual’s unique characteristics, every whim, inclination, story, talent, lack thereof, that doesn’t mean we won’t suffer the consequences for disobedience,
but that also doesn’t mean we’re not missing out on a more fulfilling, invigorating life experience.
what people are referring to is unconditional love, which means despite our transgressions against natural laws of this universe, created by one hand, common to all people, regardless of religion, we are still and always loved.
which is certainly true.
the fact we are alive, given the supernatural and physical essence to enjoy the fruits of this world, despite however much severe darkness that follows us, or have most likely experienced, inherently means we are loved.
to be alive, regardless of circumstance, high or low, is to be loved.
the problem arises when we think:
falsely about what love is,
there is no love,
we can do whatever we want and not suffer consequences,
there’s no point in aiming for perfect, because we’ll never get there.
not only that, but because we forget we are prone to suffering consequences, we’re also missing out on the greatest love, peace, harmony, and unity inherently available to us in ever moment, perfect love, the highest aim.
if perfect weren’t possible, what’s the point in striving for something better?
growth in this case would always reach a limit, and there wouldn’t be any purpose for striving for perfect, thereby instilling immediate stagnation.
how depressing.
but that’s not true. and that’s not infinite love.
love, contrary to popular opinion, is not fun and games. in fact, love is the opposite. love on the outside looks harsh, cruel, and painful, not for the unseen purpose of being harsh, cruel, and painful, but for the unseen purpose of acting as the stimulus for growth.
love is honest, which therefore kind. not vice versa.
being loving to someone isn’t telling them what they want to hear, it’s telling them in kindness, with a loving heart, what they need to hear, which is painful.
love therefore implies there are things both good and bad for us to strive for, which means by striving for the right things, we are rewarded, and when striving for the wrong, disobedient, we suffer consequences.
when we walk in disobedience, we forego this kind of infinite beauty, which cannot be seen except under full trust, commitment, and surrender unto a greater hand than our own.
we have chosen to take the fruit from the tree, based on the blindness and darkness of those around us, passed to us, unfair yes, but common to all humans, thereby forgoing the infinite potential lying beyond our level of comprehension, which requires faith to know and experience for ourselves.
conversely, in obedience, we forego immediate pleasure for a muchgreater future.
this is love.
think of it in terms of parenting, the holiest of unions in creation:
man, woman, and child.
when perfectly unified, there is no stronger a force.
to love your child would never mean to give them everything they want, or allow them to chase every desire.
of course they want only what they can understand, so they ask for milk when that’s what they know, until toys come along, then rollercoasters, a new car, an iPhone, and so on.
as the parent, it requires you understand where they are AND where they are headed, and therefore give them what they need, not what they want,
based on where they are, developmentally, a gentle stretch of their comfort zone so they develop into well functioning adults.
a child provided every whim is not going to be a well functioning child in society. they will be, without question, spoiled, entitled, unable to handle stress, socially narcissistic, dysfunctional, maybe even addicted to substances not intended for safe human consumption.
in addition, a child who is not disciplined for disobedience to the rules of the house will not be a well-functioning member of society.
while discipline is painful in the moment, clearly the child doesn’t wantto be disciplined, nor does the parent necessarily enjoy punishing their kids, but the parent knows what awaits on the other side of discipline: a better child,
a happier life experience for them, honor and glory in the form of a child who is productive, loving, and generous, etc.
without discipline, and with excess empathy for their immediate needs, they could never develop into what they could become. what is more loving than helping someone become the highest version of themselves, until what is left but perfect?
by feeding immediate desires to make them happy in the moment, you automatically prevent growth by extracting their joy from internal, honest love to an external dependency.
further, given things to make carnal desires happy, they cannot know what’s possible for them, always limited, distracted by what they see in front of their eyes, instead of trusting their hearts, or what lies beyond their awareness.
a truly loving parental figure helps guide them to places they never could have conceived possible, which requires discipline.
discipline is based on a previously prescribed set of rules, that when followed lead to happiness and joy for all parties involved. though, being the troublemakers we typically are, as was i, we somehow always want to find the line and live beyond it as a way of testing our capabilities, what’s possible, what isn’t being shown to our limited understanding of the wonderful world.
after failing to acquire what we thought we wanted, we’ll only then understand how discipline was made for a purpose, to be guided toward a brighter future, to become more than we currently are, experience more happiness in the form of growth and improvement, therefore more giving, therefore more love.
when we understand what true love is, we’ll understand that discipline really isn’t cruel, it’s love. and that to be disciplined is a sign of love, one that hones us, makes you better in all facets, carves your sculpture out of marble, creating a beautiful masterpiece.
when you experience discipline, despite your dismay, trust that beyond the now, is a better future.
and obedience isn’t some kind of authoritarian construct designed to manipulate you into doing something ill-conducive for your safety and well-being, it’s actually required for true happiness, joy, and peace.
a good, obedient dog knows where he gets his food. for him to follow his own desires would lead to pain, therefore he abides in the confines of the rules, thereby receiving what the truly good owner knows is best for his dog.
a love which allows you to do whatever you want is not love, but abuse. it’s misunderstanding what is most important in this world, which is continual growth and independence, a resonance with true love, momentary ascension into higher realms of living and experiencing life.
to sum up,
unconditional love doesn’t provide the excuse to continue to live in your sin, and just because you aren’t perfect doesn’t mean that’s not where you’re supposed to aim.
failing to even try to receive the holiest love, the inherent life source of every living and non-living entity, the very electromagnetic, quantum, sinusoidal wave fabric this entire universe is made of, is a failure of man-kind, a failure of a life.
if you’re to aim for something, it may as well be something that is everlasting, one that guides you to infinity, freedom, and unlimited joy in the form of perfect, unconditional love.
thank you for your support. i hope you found this helpful.
in love,
david
