Love is not a Loan

Humble the Poet says, "Love is a special currency.  It's endless, and you can choose to spend it on whomever you please.  There's no limit to how much love you can spend on a person, or the number of people you spend it on. "

He goes on to say, "Love is a gift, not a loan; you don't give it out expecting it to be returned." He said  he didn't know "too many mothers who are getting back what they're putting in with their babies."  That's a great reminder!

He concluded by saying, "The love in our lives comes from multiple sources, in varying degrees, and in so many different forms."

(p. 278, 279 Unlearn)

Let Love Happen

Richard Rohr in his book, The Divine Dance, says:

"Let love happen...

Love is just like prayer; it is not so much an action that we do but a reality that we already are.
We don't decide to 'be loving'...

Love is not something you do; love is someone you are.

Love is where you came from and love is where you're going."

(ebook no page notation)

Love Directs

Thomas Aquinas put it this way, "love directs the acts of all other virtues."  He was conveying courage that is enabled by love.  Sharon Hodde Miller said it this way in her book Nice ~Why We Love to be Liked and How God Calls Us to More" - "Christian courage is not merely about facing your fears but doing so for the express purpose of love."  (page 64)

We could all use some courage - motivated by love, not fear or any other thing!

Overcome by a courageous Love!

~Prayer to love~

Tim & Kathy Keller post this prayer in their book, The Songs of Jesus, a devotional about the Psalms:

"Give me enough love to live my life every day as I should.  Amen."

(page 48)

Lord, hear our prayer...

What do you see first?

...the first ingredient of love is to really see the other...
The second ingredient is equally important to see yourself...


Anthony DeMello in his last meditations

Feeling Forgotten?

Paul Miller wrote:
"Every act of love is a means of being forgotten."

Loving can be a lonely venture.  It can be isolating to love and not feel it rebound.  When you are not noticed for your love, press on, persevere.  There is nothing more important, and perhaps nothing so unnoticed.  

"A Divine Way of Relating"

Dallas Willard continues to amaze me with his teachings.  This time in Renovation of the Heart:

"Love is not a feeling, or a special way of feeling, but the divine way of relating to others and oneself that moves through every dimension of our being and restructures our world for good."
(page 183)
In his footnotes on this (page 264), he attributes this concept to Charles Finney in his Lectures on Systematic Theology.  Who would have thought this thought came from a theology book!  He continues to expound on this by saying, "to most people, to love someone now means to be prepared to approve of their desires and decisions and to help them fulfill them...to love people means to favor what is good for them and to be prepared to help them toward that..."
Willard is simply expressing that love is more determination and action than feeling.  Feelings may be a part of it or a response to it.  But, it seems to be a mental shift in favor for the other person, instead of self centeredness.