What is true love? We all have our own ideas, ideologies and beliefs about what love means to us on a personal level, but what does it TRULY mean on a spiritual level? I found myself asking this very question only a few months ago. I said to God, if love is the most powerful force in the universe then why is it we are still experiencing terrible atrocities, which often lead to bloody and unnecessary wars? Why are we still killing each other in the name of love? Why is there still so much hatred, anger, violence, greed, bitterness, hunger, jealousy, etc on this planet? Why doesn't God intervene and make things right?
I perused about this in great depth for many days and nights, perplexed and deeply concerned as my thoughts manifested themselves into tangible anxiety and feelings of being lost and alone. Why God, Why? Why are we doing this to each other? I have to know the truth, I have to know what YOUR truth is.
I spoke to God and said to him if an artist was to hang an abstract painting on the wall and offer each and everyone of us in to view it we would probably all have different ideas about what we are looking at. Someone may see an outline of a animal, tree, mountain or river where another may see a church, a ballerina, a boy running down a hill, etc. However, unless the artist themselves are in the room to explain what the picture actually means there is a strong possibility that we will only get it partly right and at worse, very wrong! It suddenly dawned on me that this is how religion operates. Each and every one of them looking at the same painting and each and every one of them proclaiming that their interpretation of the picture is the right one. It was for this very reason that I wanted to ask the artist directly....what was you feeling when you were painting this beautiful picture?
The most amazing thing happened; God gave me an epiphany of the moment. He told me that this was the only way to seek out the truth. He said to me that we must be shepherds and not sheep. The blind are most definitely leading the blind. He told me that his truth is not hidden and is there for everyone to see. It is easy to understand as he makes everything simple; it is only man who complicates things to try and justify his own intelligence. God told me that the trouble with the world is that we are all arguing over meaningless perspectives which has given birth to pretentious and foolish minds. We should not be wasting valuable time trying to explain what the artist meant when creating the painting, nor should we try to own the painting, but instead, we should be enjoying the view that he has provided for us by living within the moment and experiencing the beauty in our own individual and unique ways. If there is meaning behind the painting, then it is as simple as this ... it was painted for each and everyone of us to embrace and enjoy.
Love is simple and yet the meaning of love is so difficult to explain let alone write into words. God told me that to understand him we must first look towards our own children because it is there where we will find the answers to any questions we may have. He then gave me some examples of his knowledge and wisdom concerning the above mentioned. Would it make you happy if your son or daughter arose in the morning, kneeled at your feet and began to worship you with prayer instead of just talking to you on an equal level? Would you be content at the thought of over charging your son or daughter for food, water, clothing, shelter, or any other amenities he/she may NEED? Would you feel justified if you were to take a gun and shoot your son or daughter simply because they disagreed with your ideologies and beliefs? Would you let them go hungry if you could feed them or let them go cold if you could keep them warm? Would you leave or abandon them if they became ill, knowing you had the ability to help them? The answer to all of the above questions should be NO and yet this is what's happening all over the world every moment of every day. If you wouldn't do these things to your children then why do you do them to others? God then showed me that if we were to try and imagine strangers as our own family when we are talking or interacting with them then we would have a deeper understanding of what true love really is.
True love or God's love is equal in EVERY way and has NO connection or relationship whatsoever with the physical. We often confuse love with lust or we conjugate the act of sex with the word love and therefore confuse matters even further. Sex, in the physical sense, is for no other purpose except procreation and/or physical enjoyment. Although it is extremely difficult to exercise, we should nevertheless be able to love everyone equally in an holistic sense. If we were to take sex out of the equation altogether then the veil of confusion would begin to lift and serenity and peace of mind would then take seed. We then could begin to eradicate all prejudice from our souls, let alone from our vocabulary. There would be no more racism, no more cultural divide, no more false societal indoctrinations. Everyone would love one another as they do their own children. Can you imagine a world without fear a world without individual or collective insecurities. There would be no more need for religion to try and guide our way as we would no longer be lost or alone in our search for love. The very word 'search' indicates that something needs to be found and yet it isn't lost to start with. Love is constantly with us at all times, we just think it is lost because we are so wrapped up in other peoples' perspectives and teachings that we begin to feel alone. What's really happening is that we turn our backs on love by trying to understand it through others' eyes rather than just enjoying the beauty of love that lies within the moment. Unfortunately, we often tune ourselves out due to secular responsibilities and self-made illusions that somehow we know best because we are intelligent human beings. Love is a feeling and has nothing to do with man made intelligence. You do not need to be intelligent to understand TRUE love, you just need to be aware that it is always there for us whenever we need it.
Love is God and God is life and life is love, it really is as simple as that!
Imagine yourself in a car crash and the car has gone over the edge of a cliff. You have been thrown from the car and find yourself hanging over the edge of the cliff. You need help and start shouting as you begin to feel your hands slip away from the cliff's edge. All of a sudden you hear a voice from above saying give me your hand and I will pull you to safety. Would you honestly care if that hand belonged to a Christian, Muslim, Jew, Buddhist? Would you refuse the help on the grounds that the hand belongs to a German, French, Russian, Chinese, etc. Or whether the hand belonged to an over weight person or a dwarf? Would you care whether the hand was female or male? The point to all of this is you probably wouldn't care whose hand it was as long as it could save your life. The question must be asked then, if you value your life so much then why don't we value others' lives with the same intensity and caring? Is your life more important than theirs? Have you got more to offer because you are intelligent and hold a highly respected position in society? Maybe you have a degree or a big house or drive an expensive car. Surely God loves you more for you have more to offer? The answer is unequivocal - NO - God loves you the same as he loves everyone else; no more, no less.
This brought me to question God about murderers, rapists, thiefs, etc. I asked God if he loves them as he loves those who loves others? His answer was a resounding YES. I don't understand I said, how could you love someone who does such terrible things? This is where my eyes were opened and my heart felt the truth about love. God said to me that he forgives all and we must love our enemies. God said that I have given you free will and it is for that very reason I cannot physically intervene within your lives. It is important that you have choices, how can you possibly hope to see the light without first seeing the darkness in which the light dwells. If I was to intervene then the gift of free will would not be a gift and my word would not be the truth. I am always here for those seeking love and inner peace. I turn no souls away and welcome all who sin to sit at my table. Unfortunately, those who commit crimes against their fellow man cannot see me and through their own free will choose a path set out by themselves. This is a path that will bring them nothing but personal pain and destruction. This is why you must love them. You must pray for them in the hope that they will want to choose another way. You must pray and ask that they receive my love, so that I can show them the truth, which will lead to self-awareness, happiness and inner peace. It is only through your will that mine can then take its place. Your love for them will open the door to me and I shall walk through it, for what you do for one you do for all. If they accept my word and want to change because your love has given them the strength and opportunity to do so, then how glorious it will prove to be. You must tolerate your enemies and pray with a sincere heart that they will have the opportunity to receive enlightenment, understanding and truth. If you can love in this way and your enemies change their hearts to think and act in the same way as you; if they can throw down their weapons and cast out their darkness by seeing the light you have provided for them then true love has been achieved at its greatest awareness. When Jesus said 'Forgive them father fore they know not what they do' He was saying that if they had the same feelings of someone who exercised love they would not be doing what it was they were doing. Therefore, love is simple - if you loved everyone as you love your own children there would be no hatred, no anger, no jealousy, no greed, no ignorance or arrogance, no hunger, no killing and certainly no war.
To be continued at a later date