God is love (Part 2) - Lesson from Columbian series

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 'And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.'


I Corinthians 13:13


Continuing from lessons learned from watching a Columbian drama series. One of the more interesting (and annoying) parts of the series is the mother's obsession with her ex-son-in-law, who she marries later. I know, I know, put aside all that weirdness, haha. That's why they called it "drama". What is interesting, is her blind obsession which she calls "love and faithfulness" for this guy to the point where she pushes aside her own daughters and father's well-being. The second part is her pride and how far she will push to deny that she has made a mistake.

Firstly, what she termed as true love she has this guy, which she terms as "love and faithfulness". In the series, as evidence piles up against him - gambling addiction, unfaithfulness, drunkenness, abuse, and the list goes on. She continues to defend him and deny all the evidence before her. When would she snap out of it?
Is that true love? I have heard people said that "if God loves us, why do we suffer?" Well, I am not sure if I can answer that. At least, for me, true love is never blind - rather it is loving the person despite the best features and flaws. And that had me thinking about God's love and the verse above. For faith and hope, there is an "end". Not to be too theoretical but when we receive what we are hoping for, the hope is satisfied. Faith is satisfied on the day when we see, Jesus face-to-face. Love, on the other hand, goes on. Despite my success, flaws, moments of craziness, and sanity, I am loved through it all.
But the love of God isn't blind, that's what I have noticed. On the contrary, He sees and knows all. He doesn't just cover up my flaws and pretends that nothing has happened, that I am the perfect child of His. He sees the flaws, allows me to make mistakes, and deal with the consequences. He protects and guides me, leading me to places where I learn my mistakes and flaws. He establishes steps and leads me down a path where I can do something about the mistakes and flaws. It takes time, it takes effort, it takes patience and lots, lots of love!! God receives no benefits by it, rather it is I who receives all the benefits. That is love. No expectation of reward. It is done just because it brings benefits to the receive, no other purpose. What is love?

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