Picture of Love

i would ask you to close your eyes during this, but then you wouldn't be able to read the instructions. so, try creating the images with your eyes open, or read each step, close your eyes, picture the image, open your eyes, go onto the next instruction, and move forward. ok, here we go.

1. think of the person you love most; they can be dead or alive. when i say love, i mean actual love, not a crush or infatuation, but true, you would do anything for them, love. if they are alive, good, if they are dead, i'm very sorry and ask that you would picture them alive.

2. think about why you love that person so much. take time to really put into words/thoughts what exactly caused you to care so much about another human.

3. now, remember your fondest memory involving this person. what makes that memory so fond? what did they do that made that event so memorable?

4. how much does this person know about you? how much of your life do/did you keep hidden from them? if you hid parts of your life, what moved you to do such? and how would the person respond if they knew about those parts of your life?

5. this is the final step and i really suggest trying to imagine this as best as you can. after having so much love for another human, what if they rejected you? what if suddenly they no longer cared about you, but only for themselves? how exactly would you feel? and what if you had to watch that person destroy themselves? despite all your love and best efforts, that person chooses to scorn you and take on a life that will inevitably result in their ruin and there's ultimately nothing you can do about it because free will allows them to make their own choices, be them good or bad. to put an image to this concept (this is rather gruesome, but it gets the point across), picture the person burning alive in front of your eyes. the one human being who you love most in the world is dying a horribly painful death while you watch. however, there is a giant pool of water right next to them, ready to douse the flames that engulf their body. you scream and yell and do everything within your power to get them to jump into the water, and they hear you, but they will not listen. you witnessed the death of the one person in the world who you cared about the most, and you can't help feel as though it all could have been prevented yet it couldn't have because in the end only we have the power to choose life or death for ourselves.

now i bet you're wondering why i asked you to go through this experience. it wasn't for my benefit, but instead hopefully for yours. go back to the second point. how many of those qualities do you see in yourself? i would think most of us would want to put to use those characteristics which we find admirable in others (especially the one person we love the most). the third point was to get you to get a clearer picture of the person in your head and to emphasize the reason for the second point. as for the fourth point, chances are that the parts of your life (if any) which you keep hidden from that person are those of which you are most ashamed. after all, if you love that person so much (and chances are they love you just as much because love grows off of love), then you must really be ashamed of what you did and afraid of what they would think of you if they knew. the reasons for the final point were to show how painful love can be, how we can only give love (and not take it), and how we ultimately only have control over ourselves.

on a more spiritual note, imagine that you are the love one, and that God is you. this really applies the most to the last point. the fire is sin and the water is the grace/life brought through Jesus. i don't consider myself to be a very 'preachy' person, so i won't really focus on the idea that God has provided for our salvation and it is up to us to accept or reject it. what i would like to bring attention to is how you felt when you pictured that scene. if you truly pictured it (and if you didn't i suggest you go back and do so), i imagine that you felt a great amount of pain. if only your love one would have just jumped in the water like you so fervently tried to get them to do! well think about how God feels when you reject His love. what you felt was probably only a fraction of how God feels. please don't think i'm trying to guilt you into anything, that's really not how i function. i simply wanted to share something i found interesting; a glimpse of what i firmly believe to be the feelings of the Almighty in regards to the sins of humankind. of course we can never actually 'put ourselves in God's shoes', but it i don't think it hurts to at least try to understand that which is impossible to fully understand.