Love Wins - Friday September 4, 2020

 LOVE WINS FRIDAY, September 4th, 2020

To my readers, on Friday’s I’m doing a LOVE WINS theme.  It might be a story, or an observation - or something else.

Today, more of an observation on my part - Time and Infinity!!! (and LOVE)

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Humans abide by time.  Time ‘controls all my days - is it time to get up?  Is it time for bed?  Is it time for lunch?  Is it time to go to work? (depends on the day)  Time to eat? Time to exercise?  Time to shower?  (Time to write my daily blog???)

Everything I know is controlled by time.  I was born at a particular time and I will die at a particular time.  My birth certificate has a date and a time.  My death certificate will have a date and a time.

But, what about mountains?  They have a starting and ending date.  The start might be the first flow of lava and the start might be years, and the end might be years of erosion and earthquakes.  History tells us that there were dinosaurs, ice ages, and various eons.  

But, infinity doesn’t have any time factors - there really is no beginning and no end to infinity.  The Bible starts “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.  God WAS before the beginning - and God will be after the end of the earth.  Whatever you conceive God to be, I view God (he/she/it/the Force) as ever.  Ever - everlasting - always!!  (And, if you don’t believe in the Biblical account, still something existed before the Earth)

[By-the-way - (humor) that is a mistranslation.  God is a real baseball fan and the text should be “in the BIG inning”]

Does God wear a watch? (I’m not sure “he” has an arm!!)  I don’t think so.  He (she/it/the force) is IN everything - so he is ‘outside of time’.  He was there at my birth, he is with me today, he will be around when I die - he IS.  

So, how does this work for me?

I can try to imagine God - but I can’t!!!  Artists have tried to describe him as an old man on a throne - with a long flowing beard.  I am finite, how can I understand infinity?  I guess I see God as ‘infinite’  both as huge as the universe and smaller than an electron in an atom.  Always. Ever.  

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It is like that with LOVE.  Real love is infinite.  My human love is a poor substitute for real love.  I/we put boundaries on love - I’ll love you as long as - you are nice to me; I’ll love you as long as - I feel like it.  

LOVE (true - “agape” love) is infinite.  I am to love one another.  I am to love!!!  

So, why “LOVE WINS” as a theme for me.  Ultimately, we all die.  While I am not a theologian, (and there are many theories as to death), it would seem like there is some kind of ‘eternal life’.  No, I am NOT the one to decide about eternal life - what it is and who gets in.  But, generally, the views are a happy, loving place (that for debate sake - we’ll call heaven), and one other place (that we will call hell).  In my imagination, it seems like heaven is going to be a place of love and hell is not a place of love.  

LOVE WINS!!

This week, I’ve been listening to Melissa Gates (married to Bill Gates).  She had this:

"As one of my favorite spiritual teachers, Franciscan priest Richard Rohr, says, 'Only love can safely handle power. For me, love is the effort to help others flourish—and it often begins with lifting up a person's self-image."

LOVE WINS!!

Hate is negative; love is positive!!!  Hate tears things down, but Love builds up!!!  

Dorothy Day (I have quoted this in the past) “I can only love God as much as the person I love the least.”  I view that as NOT hating anybody!!

LOVE WINS!!

Do I always love everybody?  No - sorry.

Do I always even love myself?  Not always (but a good nap can put me back into a good mood)!!

LOVE WINS!!!

When I say “LOVE WINS” - what does that conjure up in your mind?  Happiness? Joy?  Peace? Contentment? Blessings?

Let’s think about that this week!!!

See you next Friday for another LOVE WINS thought (and tomorrow for a Saturday story and Sunday Funday and posts next week)!!

LOVE WINS!!

HUGS!!

Karen