Life is not
complete without love. Perhaps one cannot live life to the fullest without
having an experience of love. Love has been frequently described by many as
full of sacrifices. Sacrifice is a significant word; it is not just a simple
act that takes a little courage and a mere effort to do it. It is because when
we sacrifice, we give up something of great value in order to gain or maintain
something, such as a valuable relationship or some other worthy cause.
Suppose that a man has been
in a longtime relationship with a very beautiful woman, yet with an attitude
that does not seem to concord with her lovely outward appearance. One time, the
man finally confronted the woman about her mistreatment with him but the woman
reacted so badly about it. We can see that the woman was very adamant with her
lover yet the guy, however, still pursues the relationship that they had been
into for a long, long time. It seems that the man loves the girl so much even
if to the extent that she is already hurting him. But could we say that the
woman was really worth loving? Could you sacrifice, just like the man, to
continue your long held relationship?
Now,
I could say that the woman was still
really worth loving. I think there was not
even one who was not really worth loving at
all. Jesus Christ himself told us to love everyone even our enemies, how can we
not heed to Him? Besides we all share the same dignity—being created in the image and likeness of God. Since the man loved the girl so much,
he ought to abide or accept the the woman love despite her
imperfections. But still he will have to
sacrifice in order to continue that long held relationship hoping the someday
the time will come that the woman
he loved so much will
finally recognize his sacrifices just to be with her.
Commonly, when something
is difficult to give up regardless of how
hard it is, then sure thing it is a sacrifice.
It is good to remember that there will always be something to give up when it
comes to sharing your life with someone else. There will also come a time when sacrifice becomes so natural among
lovers that they will even become incognizant of it.
However, when one’s sacrifice ended up as futile, when
everything is not working harmoniously anymore, then perhaps it would be the
time to formally end up everything. It is because it causes someone more damage
to himself/herself emotionally, spiritually, or at other times physically. Let
us not forget to think of values, goals and opportunities in life that lies
ahead of us instead of being stagnant to one person that hinders your progress
in life.
But this does not mean that one should become a
cold-blooded lover, but it is just somehow
beneficial
to think for yourself sometimes.
Now,
let us move on from the context of love and sacrifice in relationships. Let us go to where we can find the true meaning of love and
sacrifice. When we talk about love, we should not delimitate ourselves from the
common teenage conception of love as all about relationships. We should talk
about the love of God since to speak about
love without ever mentioning God would be nonsensical at all.
I
could say that the love of man for God and the love of God for man is the greatest expression of
love and sacrifice. When God sent His Son into the world, He sacrificed His Son
in order for us to saved from the plagues of sin. Jesus Christ suffered great
pain and mockery here on earth, yet he never thought of these sacrifices He was making because of His great love for us. No one will ever
surpass that kind of love and sacrifice that is why only God can do it.
Now,
could we say that we are also
worthy of the love of God? This would seem to be the hardest
question so far. Maybe others would think that they are worthy of the love of
God, others might say they are not. But
actually, the love of God is not for a selected few but for all. Everyone of us
is being loved by God, but are we
really willing to love God in return? Could we also sacrifice in return for His love to us? Although we could simply say yes, but
this yes requires not just a mere single effort but a whole lifetime of effort
to do it. This yes entails a lot of sacrifices; we need to give up something
that does not please God.
Indeed,
I could say love really entails
sacrifices and also in sacrifices
there should be love. In the context of my priestly formation, I could also say
that my love for God led me to do
difficult sacrifices. As I came to
love my formation more and more, I somehow became unaware of the
sacrifices that I was making. It is really
the love of God that sustains me in my journey. To serve as a conclusion, I would like to quote the words
of St. Paul in his letter to the
Ephesians: “Live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up
for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:2).
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