I am overwhelmed/overcome with the love that I have for Aolani. To be honest, you will NOT be able to imagine or grasp the love a parent has for a child until you have your own. I know that is cliché, but it is true. Period.
With that said, I was thinking the other day about this immense love and have found that it is completely natural. Like breathing. I cannot contain it or stop it or start it. It is just there and beyond control.
To summarize thus far the foundational understandings -- this love is ginormous and uncontrollable. This is where I mention the mother who lifted a car off of her child. Moving on to new revelatory thought ;)
Let's brainstorm... I think I'll use numbers to help me.
- Love child(ren) - this is so natural that it just flows. It is EASY; not loving them would be HARD. I think part of what makes this easy is the fact that your child is part of you, of you, from you...
- Love spouse - this is HARD. If you are married, then no explanation is needed. If you aren't married, then trust me. I think part of what makes this hard is the fact that your spouse is from outside you.
- Love God - this is (by far) the HARDEST. It is easy to pay lip service, say that you love Him. However, I'm talking about action. Love, the verb. Jesus even said that loving Him means obeying Him (John 14:23). Walking as He walked, following after Him. Figuratively, sounds easy. Practical application, hard stuff.
Who noticed that I went easiest to hardest? But God wants us to reverse the order. We are to love Him first, foremost and utmost (Mark 12:30). Then, we should love our spouse (so as to provide the children with a safe home, stable environment, show them what love looks like... plus, your spouse will, God-willing, still be around when the kids leave you!) Finally, we should love our child(ren). Seriously, kids don't want you to love them most. It's too much pressure for them. They don't want to be your universe but want you to show them Who holds the universe. They want to fill like they are secure within something bigger -- the family -- and a part of the biggest event ever -- God's plan to redeem the world.
Bottom line: Love God. Love spouse. Love child(ren). Hardest to easiest.
Point: Simply, I think God wants us to do hard things because it builds character, among many good traits. By loving and trying to love people, maybe eventually, the embers of our love towards God will ignite. And, we will love Him a little bit more than we did before. Let's inspire others to do so, too!
Three notes/disclaimers:
This is not Scripture, but my observations and interpretations.
The love I am talking about here is the pure, selfless and sacrificial kind (agape).
Although loving my child does give me a better understanding of God's love for us, I fully realize that I will never, ever, EVER be able to even remotely fathom how much God could possibly love us (expressed through Jesus), both as our Bridegroom and our Father.