been thinking about love lately, not because of Valentine's day though. ;) been thinking about the line, or whether there is a line, between loving without fear and guarding one's heart. all the books and talks etc about dating and relationships always cite Proverbs 4:23 - "Above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life." while i appreciate that nugget of wisdom, a part of me also wonders whether one can be so concerned about guarding his/her heart that the heart begins to live in fear. because in 1 John 4:18, it says, "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." conversely, if one loves people so much that the heart seems unguarded, is that necessarily a bad thing? is that not the type of love God has for us?
if Proverbs 4 is read in its entirety, it is actually a warning against allowing sin to enter the heart. so could it be that verse 23 has been taken out of context? i think there is definitely a line for guarding the heart against lust, but against love? perhaps this is only a personal misconception. but i've come to realize i live with much fear. so if i am to live completely in the love of Christ, i suppose i must also let down my guard against love - because loving people comes with the prospect of rejection and there's no getting around that. God loves us this way, Jesus loves us this way and so i must learn to love.
however, i think that loving with reckless abandon is only possible if one is grounded in the love of Christ - because He is the source of security when rejection from people hits.
~1 John 3:16~
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