Cheap Imitations

"God offers authentic love. His devotion is the real deal. But He won't give you the genuine until you surrender the imitations." - Max Lucado

Happy Thursday to any of you who take your time to follow me. Wednesday was quite a profitable day. I registered for classes at a local community college. I'll be working on obtaining a Business Administration Degree and Teacher's Aid Certificate. My situation is rather comical. Life isn't turning out exactly how I planned. I guess I could be depressed about it, or I could trust that God has a plan. I know if I love Him, He promises in His Word to work out things for good to conform me to the image of Christ (Romans 8:28-29). This brings me to the book pictured at the top of the post. Max Lucado has written a wonderful book called, "A Love Worth Giving." Each chapter focuses on one verse of Paul's description of genuine Christ-centered love in 1 Corinthians 13. I'm only to chapter four and have learned so much all ready. I definitely recommend this book. Lately, I have been so challenged with the concept of contentment. We live in a world that truly believes that money can buy happiness. Constantly, I hear these words. "If only I had those blank, I would be happy." You fill in the blank. We've all been there. Life can get so stressful that we run to the next thing that will give us any happiness or pleasure. Even for one second, maybe we could forget the pain that runs so deeply within our hearts. However, the rush is temporary. Sooner or later, we find ourselves back to wanting more. I definitely struggle with this problem. A lot of times, I find myself desperately wanting to live the life of the rich and famous. Wouldn't it be nice to swipe my debit card and have no worries? Don't get me wrong that would be fantastic! Yet, I know that it wouldn't be enough. Furthermore, our contentment issues may not even be in the form of money. Sometimes, we look for completeness in people. We find ourselves striving to please everyone. For once, we want that good looking guy or girl to look our way. I have heard so many girls say something in the form of these words, "Once Mr. Right comes along, all my problems in life will be solved." On a side note, I feel for guys out there. In the words of one of my guy friends that I highly respect he said, "Girls put a lot of pressure on us. They think we are their white knight from the movies. We have cracks in our armor. We are aren't going to get it all right." I have a lot to say on that topic. I'll leave the rest of my thoughts for another blog. Anyways, even with Mr. or Mrs Hansom the feeling will never completely satisfy. I can personally testify to that. In themselves, these things are not evil. They are simply imitations of love as Lucado was saying. I am learning that I cannot truly experience the goodness of my God until I'm willing to lay aside the limitations and accept his love. At times, I long desperately for earthly love, but I don't want that love until I'm lost in the love of Christ. Contentment is a hard teacher. I believe it is something I'll battle the rest of my life. However, I can't explain the peace that God has given me since I started being grateful for the daily provisions. When was the last time, we said thank-you God. Who knows the burdens He bears for us that we don't even think about? For just once, let us lay aside the cheap imitations and get lost in the genuine love of God that isn't circumstantial. Hasta Luego :-)