Simply Love

Simply Love…

I often am asked by people how to make life simple. People want to simplify their life, but why do they insist on cluttering the process?

Life is simple, we make it complicated and believe it or not, we complicate it over the human concept of love. I say the human concept because we tend to put more into the meaning of the word than what it really is.

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. – 1 John 4:7

Love is said to be a variety of different feelings, states, and attitudes that ranges from interpersonal affection (“I love my mother”) to pleasure (“I loved that meal”). It can refer to an emotion of a strong attraction and personal attachment.

It can also be a virtue representing human kindness, compassion, and affection—”the unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another”. It may also describe compassionate and affectionate actions towards other humans, one’s self or animals.

The Christian understanding is that love comes from God. The love of man and woman—eros in Greek—and the unselfish love of others (agape), are often contrasted as “ascending” and “descending” love, respectively, but are ultimately the same thing.

God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved. – Ephesians 2:4-5

Christian theologians see God as the source of love, which is mirrored in humans and their own loving relationships.

These are all human interpretations of love and for the most part they overlook the simplicity of the word love. Because of this we need to loosen our grasp on these feelings. Love is more than a feeling, it is also a choice.

When was the last time you sat out in your backyard at night and looked into the heavens? When was the last time you let your eyes take in the beauty of the flowers, trees, the birds and the bees, and all the creatures that God has created?

In Genesis 1, the book of beginning, God created it all and it was good. It was love and it still is. God is love and we are created with this love. When you realize that everything you see, taste, smell, and feel is love then you will start to see the simplicity of it and of life.

When life gets so cluttered with things and noise and silly unnecessary activities, it is then when you have to realize the love in all this. These things are all part of life, not complications of life and not mere distractions, so you can’t use them as excuses to say you can’t live a simple life.

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. –  Ephesians 4:2-3

As a parent, husband or wife, a friend and neighbor we all have little things that seem to get in the way of our perceived goals in life. God puts these little things in our path to remind us that He create us with love and we need to do all things with the same love. This is what makes living a simple life easy.

When you can walk up to a friend or neighbor and say I love you and mean it, then you are on the right path.

Put on therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, humility, and perseverance; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, if any man has a complaint against any; even as Christ forgave you, so you also do. Above all these things, walk in love, which is the bond of perfection.” — Colossians 3:12-14

As my Grandfather would say ” To live is simply to love, to love is simply to live!”

Light of the world You walk out into darkness – open my eyes let me see…

Walk daily with God at your side!

Love always,

Ed