"And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:13
This is such a popular verse taken from scripture and a very powerful one at that~to those who believe it... Hmm, where to start. Over the years immersing myself in the scripture loving so many verses that I feel apply to me, highlighted in an array of colors, I don't even have this one marked in my Bible... Trust me, I have come upon it often, but always cringing as I pass it. I usually tell myself, "I got this one covered, I know how to love" I never understood or even attempted to face my disinterest in this verse until now...Until I read "The Shack" by William P. Young. I finally read this book after the 5th recommendation, I thought this must be a really good book, or someone is trying to tell me something:)
Over the past couple of years I have been reading books so quickly, if it takes longer than 3 days to complete then it must not be a good read- Except when it came to this book. It was so good, so deep, and all about LOVE, it just took me a month to face my truth. I think as I finished the last page it is all so clear to me now. It took this book for me to realize I have been associating love with pain. I think it comes from so many different experiences in my life, there is no great one to pin point. But in reading this book I have realized I expect something in return when I love...and that is when the pain comes in! In this fictional book it has many wonderful messages one of which is; God does not have any expectations of us, so we should not have any expectations of others(ok, so it's not phrased just like that, you'll just have to read it to get the just of it). So many other perceptions of mine where brought to light with this book. But I will not go into them as I feel anyone who relates with anyone day in and day out~which is everyone, needs to read this book.
There are some gray areas that I don't get, like the question of Hell??? But again the main message is Love...If this is to glorify Our Father, Our Savior than it certainly is a good read for the soul!
Ok my confession is out, and the verse I have struggled with is now highlighted with a new meaning of the word Love. I sure hope this book is what heaven is really like, God is really like...but if not I have faith it's a thousand times more amazing. Where we all live in harmony and Love...Yes, I am a cheesecake now, but at least a Loving one;) And yes, I may forget my new truth, but know I will always be trying.
If you are wondering about the 1st "must read", it is the BIBLE. If you haven't checked it out, or it's been a while since you dove into it, this is must read for EVERYONE. If you've heard someone take things from it and twist it to fit them and you don't believe what it says, I ask you to take another look for yourself. God will speak to you in it(yes, it is magical;), and what one verse means to one will not mean the same to another. One verse can have so many billions of meanings, or how ever many people populate the world! It truly is a the Living Word and when I read it, it does not apply to anyone but me. This is where God and I have our one on one, it is my self help book! And when he still couldn't knock the stubbornness out of me, he sent me onto The Shack! Yep, call me a Bible thumper, because you just got thumped!
Ok that's about as deep as I get for today, enjoy the books!
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