We may give our human loves the unconditional allegiance which we owe only to God. Then they become gods: then they become demons. Then they will destroy us, and also destroy themselves. For natural loves that are allowed to become gods do not remain loves. They are still called so, but can become in fact complicated forms of hatred. – C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves
There is so much goodness in the love of another person. So much beauty and so much light! At times we think we have already caught a glimpse of eternity as we love another person wholeheartedly and without reserve.
But O, what pain when betrayal comes! What bitterness and anguish. How could the very person we loved break our hearts apart?
Have we not given it our all? Have we not excluded everybody else so we can give that person everything we ever had? Have we not emptied ourselves and looked to him or her as a god that must be served and adored?
Ah, but that is what we have forgotten. That though the love of another person is good, it can never equal the love of God. That no matter how beautiful it may be, it is still a love given to a fragile being, weak and vulnerable as we ourselves are.
It is always a blessing to love another. But let no blessing take you away from the One who loves you without measure, without equal, and without end.
You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. – Deuteronomy 6:5, WEBBE
A Beauty That Never Fades
I have seen so much beauty in this life,
I have felt overflowing love,
I have been happy,
I have been filled with so much joy!
But O, I have also seen so much hatred
and violence and apathy,
I’ve felt so much sorrow
that almost drained my eyes of tears.
I have seen how something so beautiful
could suddenly be corrupted, twisted,
decayed and left to waste.
I have seen how something so wonderful
could suddenly end,
and how something so precious
could suddenly be taken away from you,
tearing both your heart and soul.
What is this life worth then?
What does it all mean?
Why must darkness spoil the light?
Why must love be filled with pain?
Is there a way to restore everything
back to wholeness?
Is there some chance that good
might not end in evil things?
Only God holds the key.
From everlasting to everlasting,
the One who changes not,
whose Light has never grown dim,
and whose beauty never fades,
He alone can save
and keep what’s good and beautiful and true.
Left to ourselves we grow weak.
We turn love to hatred,
we hold something beautiful
and it soon withers away and dies.
With God however, all things are kept,
cleansed and made whole.
Sorrow turns to joy,
Suffering turns to strength.
We approach in ignorance,
and we leave with wisdom;
We approach in fear,
and we leave with courage.
We live forever in LOVE!
Check Jocelyn's books:
"Of Waves and Butterflies: Poems on Grief", "Mend My Broken Heart", "Questions to God", "To Love an Invisible God", "Defending My Catholic Faith", and more - click here.
(You may freely quote excerpts from this website as long as due credit is given to author Jocelyn Soriano and the website itakeoffthemask.com)