Welcome to my blog on love, hope, loneliness, and peace

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.
However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighborhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered as the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters.--Jane Austen 

What is love?


Even though 1796 was the date Jane Austen first began writing her best known work, it is still relevant today. 
Why? You may ask. Because from the very first paragraphs, we realize the entire book revolves around a theme pertinent to everyone, whether male or female, single or already wed. It is based on relationships. Relationships of any kind are ultimately built on love. Love seeks to understand the human character better. We want to know more and more about the people we love. And God is love. The more we understand God and who He is, the better we as Christians can understand each other.
Christ, our Husband, is conquering the world. This is the real truth universally proclaimed by creation, including every single person out there, whether they know it or not. 


First Impressions


Pride and Prejudice wasn’t published till 1813, but when Austen first began it she gave it the name First Impressions. 
As Christians, we must be careful of our first impressions. Is it the very first act we see someone do or say, that we should be judging them on? 


This is how Christ is described in Isaiah 11:3-4
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, 
or decide by what he hears with his ears; 
4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy, 
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.

If we are talking about non-Christians, we obviously need to watch out for whom we hang out with, but God is our judge for that.
When it comes to our sisters and brothers in Christ, we must have caution. We are so quick to point out what we don’t like about people, especially ones we don’t know well. Remember what my definition of love is, though? Love seeks to understand others better and glorify each other. If God knows the number of the hairs on our head, how come we don’t even talk to everyone at our church?