Blind love?
Monday, June 30, 2008
Some say love is blind, but I wonder if love actually enables sight? That is, is there a kind of knowledge that is only gained through love, which cannot be perceived without love? Is it true that there are truths that can only be grasped through by the heart? As someone has said ' the heart has its reasons which reason knows not'.
I was reading some reflection on the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10: 25-37) by Caroline Simon, and the way it was worded struck me. She writes 'The priest and the Levite are blind to what the Samaritan sees, for they lack the love that leads to compassion' (p.13). She then quotes Simone Weil's comment: 'Humanity does not exist in the anonymous flesh lying inert by the roadside. The Samaritan who stops and gives his attention all the same to this absent humanity, and the actions which follow prove that it is a question of real attention' (p.13).
I am interested in people who speak of love as that which enables us to look upon people differently, to see things which, without love, we are unable to see, and to be transformed in our thoughts and deeds by what we see. I think there is a lot bound up in this. It means being truly present to the other, and also truly perceiving their presence. The encounter with true 'presence' is something that is deep and touching, something that can 'grip' our heart. Often we do not give our true presence to people. Our minds are elsewhere, 'busy', or through some form of subliminal rejection we choose not to fully listen, and certainly not to look beyond whatever facade we are 'faced' with. But giving our true presence and beholding the other 'lovingly', we may see through their facade to their true presence.
If we do this, if we offer our full presence and manage to glimpse the other, will we find something that compels us to love? That is, is there something in that person that is intrinsically lovable, love-worthy, lovely? Or is is, rather, that our love 'creates' that value in the other?
This, of course, has significant theological assumptions and implications, e.g. Does God's love see in us something of value to be loved, or does it create in us that something, i.e. love completing itself in the other? I would tend to favour the former: that love perceives a worth which already exists in the other. In this case, it is love that enables us to see it.
4 comments:
I am no theologian, that's for sure, but since having had social phobia a lot of my adult life, and now after being wooed by Jesus and seeing His true love for me, I am journeying out of fear of all people, and into a love for other people, and hopefully seeing them more through His eyes. This makes me think of one of our disabled group, Sue, who on the outside is someone who most would deem as unlovable. She is of rough appearance, unkempt, and on meeting would be described by most probably as scary, talking of death and dying and murder a lot of the time. Yet the other day I was talking to her, and she spoke of her children who had died in a car accident, and the tears that came momentarily to her eyes have not left my memory. She switched from this conversation immediately to beer and cigarettes, yet the memory of the pain inside her that i glimpsed momentarily confirmed what I believe Jesus has been telling me, we should be looking at others, including the disadvantaged person, as just a person. Someone who God loves equally with us, not more, not less, just equally. It makes you see all people in a different light, and the scary become lovable and loved.
Though the love of the Father's purpose and good pleasure has its rise and foundation in His mere grace and will, yet the design of its acccomplishment is only in Christ. All the fruits of it are first given to Him; and it is in Him only that they are dispensed to us. So that though the saints may, nay, do see an infinite ocean of love unto them in the bosom of the Father, yet they are not to look for one drop from Him but what comes through Christ. He is the only means of communication. Love in the Father is like honey in the flower-it must be in the comb before it is fit for our use. Christ must extract and prepare this honey for us. He draws this water from the fountain, and we from the wells of salvation that are in Him. John Owen 1616-1683. (Excerpt taken from "Day by Day with the English Puritans.")
You speak of "true presence" Michael. True presence is best seen through the total outpouring of the love of Christ as He gave up all the love that had been bestowed upon Him by God the Father in an act of unparalleled and unmerited grace. Christ is very truly "present" in us through the Holy Spirit and we are empowered to truly 'see' the other person, not as we perceive them but as Christ does... orphans, without future or family, desperately needing to be adopted into the family of God which offers uncondtional and eternal love. Love is a commandment, and as scripture so clearly states, "If you love Me, you will keep my commandments." Love is an action, therefore the compelling is based upon an act of obedience.
We choose to love because of the non negotiable command of Christ and we do so because "love" is a reflection of the love which indwells us, just like a mirror. We mirror Christ, therefore we are to mirror HIS love, not our own.
So the question I pose is this:- Do we fully understand the depth, length and breadth of this love indwelling us. That we are indeed, "beloved?" Consider this and we will have less difficulty in giving our 'true presence' to people.
I am quite impressed by the thoughtfulness and honesty of people's responses so far, in a public space. I am encouraged by the personal reflections of 'Magdalene' which I identify with and yet find myself 'missing' such moments recently. It is as if I have been swept up in the busyness of life and forgotten how to see past people's exterior and facades. I am also keenly aware of what the [not so] 'anonymous' commenter has said: that Christ empowers us to see people with the same love that drove him to the cross, and yet I find my love seems to have grown somewhat cold.
That is one of the reasons I began this electronic journey, to take some time out to reflect on and delve deeper into the truth of whose I am and who I am in Christ, in order to re-centre, and be re-ignited with passion and love, compassion and grace, and so as to truly reflect the love of Jesus.
I heard a message recently on life in Christ as being like streams of 'living water' flowing within:
“If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”
The message stirred me to ensure I did not let it become just another sermon! My heart's desire is to deeply know the love of God, and to draw life from him, and to truly share the life and love and joy and fullness to the people he loves. And yet I find myself struggling to have even the simplest conversations with people. I find I just don't know what to talk to people about. I am talking in general, i.e. having a simple conversation with someone is difficult because I try to think of things to talk about and I just draw blanks.
I am beginning to wonder if the reason is that my heart wants to get straight to the deeper things (which is my passion), and yet these are the very things people run from in fear. Thus I don't feel I can talk about the things I truly want to talk about, and I can't find anything else to say instead.
I want to make a safe space to talk to people about the things that matter most, and to do so in a safe way with little jargon. Perhaps as I get better at doing it electronically, I will find I can also share with people in person, and be able to encounter their full 'presence' even as I offer my own, and as I become more aware of the presence of the Spirit in my own life, hopefully the fear will diminish and the love will grow (as in 1 John 4).
I have a feeling this will take some time though!
Anyway, good to hear from you both!
I have had some people pooh pooh this type of comment, but I believe my own love for people and the beginning of the healing of my social phobia commenced with the said out-loud scripture, "For God did not mean me to have a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind. Not long after fully embracing God again in my life, I said that scripture over and over and over and over and over; out loud when alone, under my breath when people were around,and without realising or noticing it a slow eroding of my fears began, and I began to see people as individuals, not just as a collective group of things to fear. Probably sounds awful, but that was how i felt for so long, but through using the Sword of the Spirit I managed to cut away the lies the enemy sent me so as to allow the truth that God wanted to reveal to me to enter my very essence - that we have to ALWAYS look through His eyes at people, not through the eyes of the enemy of all flesh. I still have problems talking to people at times, not knowing what to say, but it is usually when i let my guard down and inadvertently allow the enemy to whisper fear of them into my mind,and I draw blanks. But I always find the scripture repeated out loud, or a sneaking into the ladies to whisper a few timely Words, cuts the cycle of fear and i can see people again not only as God's beloved children, therefore my brothers and sisters, but also as a unique mixture of emotions like i have, with fears like I have, likes and dislikes like I have, insecurities like i have, etc. etc. etc. I can see them as people again. It is so much easier to talk to someone when you choose to love them. One example is the other night I was talking to a man named Dennis who I must admit has had the tendency to annoy me with his incessant talking. He is a disabled ex-vietnam veteran who had a stroke and ended up living in supported accommodation. As he was talking i looked at him and then CHOSE to love him. It made a huge difference. I found choosing to love him brought on an interest in his welfare instead of the other emotions that would usually rear up in me when i was cornered (!!!) by him. I have since found myself praying for him. Sorry I am off the track of your entire blog, but I just honed in on the love growing somewhat cold comment. You can CHOOSE to change that. Just ask God, and He will change you. Its in His will for you to love. xxxYour love hasn't grown cold Michael, it is just hidden under the fear of rejection. You are justified in Christ Jesus, live your life knowing that, REALLY knowing that, and the rest will follow. p.s. i asked God did He have anything to say before i finished, and He supplied the bit from the xxx
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