After reading I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris, I was indulged into a depth amazement. I’m really amazed, almost hypnotized, by his work. I could not help it but to say “God, You are really great!” I praise and worship Him for using such person to inspire and redirect million and millions of people’s beliefs into a better one. And I should applaud Harris a “Bravissimo!” just like how Elisabeth Elliot had clapped him.
My principles about life got strengthened and transformed.
Strengthened or transformed?
Uhm, either…
STRENGTHENED. I first realized to make God as the first priority when I entered into a church. It thought me on how to settle the right priorities that will bless me beyond my imagination. God, Self, Family, Ministry and Studies/Work– this is the proper order. Along with that is a principle I got from the first ever inspirational Scripture-based book I read (which unfortunately, I did not finish). The title of the book is I Love You by Gordon.
The principle goes like this that I always ponder:
“It is refreshing to get close in a meaningful relationship with an earthly lover, but it is much more satisfying to get close in a spiritual relationship with Jesus, the Divine Lover. An we should always remember the the One is willing to lead us to the other.”
How refreshing it is to draw near to Him who will surely lead us to the right person! No wonder, everyday of my life, I get more and more contented and satisfied even without engaging myself into something romantic. I live in full by the love of God, that I need not to find from the opposite sex to fulfill that bliss. I still hold on to that principle and so Josh helped me strengthen it.
But sometime, due to absence of “love life”, as what we call it, more and more guys out there rise up before me–some came from the past and the others are on present who look forward to win me in the future. “I don’t know with God”, I once thought. “Why is He putting me now in front of these guys where in fact the only guy I needed today is Him?”. I must admit, I liked it when guys like me and put their eyes on me, but it did not mean committing or “committing again” myself to them. It meant understanding their feelings towards me and starting a different kind of tie called friendship. All I wanted is purely camaraderie and to others, brotherhood and sisterhood. But despite that, I still remained not transparent of all. Why? Because I may have thought “Oh, I don’t need boyfriends right now because I love God.”, but I still did not understand that Love. To be honest, I became so worried how to deal with these persons. Worried about my love life. I said, “I don’t need boyfriends” but sometimes, I came to a point of thinking that “Maybe I should try one?”. My real motive was not really to love God and I had another focus. Though I went through engaging into two relationships before and decided to put this thing aside for God, still my mind is half. In short, it’s not yet focus to God. I’m still immature. One of the effects of this mentality was that “I am not really contented” because I’m still lacking of faith to Him. Worrying about my love life is really… really being out of trust to Him and immature. In here transformation took place.
As I go through the book, “I Kissed Dating Goodbye”, I learned on how to entrust my love life to Him and discovered the REAL LOVE. I discovered the real beauty and the gift of my singleness. I discovered a principle on love which is comprised by a single formula–God. True love is to love others because God has first loved us through His Son Jesus. I’m really surprised to hear this new revelation–to live in LOVE! I’m no longer living for myself but for God and for others!
How amazing to figure out your own weaknesses and transform all of your negative outlooks in life into something that will really please God! Now I know what is really essential to life. It is the true love that God wants us to follow–to deny ourselves. From my own selfish principles to a change of selfless and sacrificing love, I climbed into my greatest conviction. As I changed my views, I changed my life. Now I chose to live and walk with wisdom. I see to it that my principles would depend to His will.
Let me share this one. My own definition of love…
True love is flying away from the world’s trend of love and departing into a genuine godly love.
This is amidst amazement!
This is life!
This is love.
This is Christianity!
yamii