Love and future-vision…
Dec 10th, 2009 by ljkim
Some people are good at loving, so they don’t need pointers… But if you’re like me love-challenged, then a few pointers every now and then are helpful. One thing I notice in the places where God rants about His people is: although He is talking about something contemporary to the prophet’s time, He looks at the past and the future… Okay, what does that have to do with love? When you love something truly, you don’t just see them as they are right now, but you also see them as they WILL be…
A good parent sees his child not just as the cute thing he/she is at the moment, but as the man or woman she will soon become. A good owner of a collectible car doesn’t just see the new model off the showroom floor, but sees it as a soon-to-be classic! A loving spouse doesn’t just see her husband for who he is now, but for the man he is destined to become…
I’m not saying this happens automatically: many parents are content to just see their children as “babies”, or only love their cars when they’re new, or appreciate a spouse while he’s young – but the BEST loves don’t do that. The best loves, real love, has future-vision built-in.
So one way to love ANYTHING better is to apply a bit of future vision. And what I’ve found is that it makes loving easier. So what will motivate you to clean up that clunker in the garage? Future-vision: if you knew it was a future-classic, that puts your elbow grease into perspective… How can you love someone who’s present actions are unlovable? Future vision can help with that. How are you going to say “no” to cute children who try to manipulate you? Future vision helps with that too, and you can say “no” out of love…
God sees your future… Who you will be, what you can be, what all these aches and pains will end up with… And He’s decided it’s all worth it.
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