Still on the issue of love:

Still on the issue of love:
We live in a society where something for something is the order of the day. We give to take. We loved to be appreciated. We bless to be rewarded. In general, we're living in the wrong idea, following the wrong paths and making the wrong decisions.

We're being reminded to show unconditional love. A love that is given without any conditions. A love that is selfless, and sacrificial. Here the model that is being adopted is 'Something for Nothing'. We're being reminded that, it is the soul that goes up to meet God in the end and not the body. Hence we're being urged to live a life that is directed towards perfection of the soul.

The soul is perfected in the spirit. That is the manifestation of God through the holy spirit. And in a platform of love, the spirit dwells. Because where there is love, there dwells God. Living in Christ, entails him living in us, our soul begins to be perfected. The soul which is supposed to be our primary concern has been neglected and substituted for worldly things, things that would end here on earth, things that are not internal, things that don't matter.

An example was illustrated; the case of a certain king who possessed four wives.
The first, he didn't care about at all
The second had always been very caring and loving.
The third had always loved to travel and explore with him.
The fourth, he had loved and paid utmost attention to.
On his death bed, he called upon everyone of them but the first wife, and pleaded they joined him in the land of the dead least he spends eternity alone.
The fourth wife was the first to depart, the third followed suit, and not long, the second joined them. The king was shocked and heart broken and had lost all hope. However the first wife sprung from her dwelling, and offered to go the the king. He was even more amazed because this was one he never loved, paid attention to or cared about.

The fourth wife is our body. When we live a life engrossed with the physical, when the place of God in our lives begin to be replaced by the thoughts and effort we put in towards trying to attained that perfect body, we need a rethink. Because you spend so much time  loving your body, spending enormous amount to maintain your skin, these in themselves may not be bad. What's bad is when these start replacing the place of God in your life. Be reminded that the body does not rise forth to meet God. So invest wisely. Life does not end on earth, it goes way beyond.

The third wife is worldly and material things. Those things we may not necessarily need but we like to show off to the entire world. It becomes toxic when instead of investing resource into the lives of the less privileged, you're squandering your money in useless artifact or material things. Things you don't need but that screams wealth! So you just have to possess. Be reminded that you came into this world empty, the only thing you'd be leaving with is your soul. Invest wisely.

The second wife can be seen in relatives, friends, family. These are very loving and caring in themselves. But in the end, they don't go with us. In the end you're running your own race. Live a life worthy of emulation. Don't life your life to please the masses. Don't succumb to the temptation and persuasion that your familiar crowd subject you to. We might find our self in situations where we are trapped between doing the right thing and pleasing family, don't lose focus and do the right thing.

And finally, the First wife, the one that had been deserted, and cast aside. The one we don't even pay  much cognize to. The one which we might not even be aware that exists.
The most important one. The one that leaves with us. The one we should be investing our time, talents and treasures trying to perfect.

We are Christians and if we believe in the Resurrection, we should not fail to live a life in which the utmost purpose is the perfection of the soul. This  doesn't mean, don't live or explore life, thid doesn't mean don't look after yourself. This means you should do exactly all that. But in moderation and with caution so that these don't replace God's place in our lives.

Have a Blessed Sunday.