Taste of Love
Our Loving God has taught me and the other members of our Power Youth ministry a wonderful lesson last night during our dinner fellowship with Ate Neneng Del Mundo of SMO (Student Missionary Outreach). She shared to us how to gauge, when in a relationship, if we are with the right person; or when we are yet to enter a love relationship, how to know if we are ready and if he/she is the right person. Ate Neneng gave us an interesting acronym - T.A.S.T.E.
Time
This is one indispensable element of love. If you love someone, you will MAKE TIME. In another light, the time element as in right "timing' is in consideration. Take for example a teenager, particularly a high school or college student, who wants to enter into a relationship. How can he say that he can make time for the other person when he needs to attend to his homework, projects and other school activities first? Wait on God's perfect time.
Acceptance
One day you were both so in love with one another. The next day, you treat each other like strangers as if nothing happened. Why does it happen? "I don't know, but his family's background doesn't fit mine." "Oh, I found out that he has this illness." "Yes, he's an achiever but he can't play basketball or any instrument." "...He wasn't perfect after all." Will you be able to accept the other person's family, strengths and weaknesses? If you truly love a person, you will take the risk and trust God's will.
Selflessness (This is, personally, my favorite part☺)
A hardcore appreciation of the parallelism of the man-woman and God-church relationship.
MAN = GOD (The Man's role is to love as God loved the church; the Man is the leader in all aspects most especially the spiritual growth of both parties and their future family)
WOMAN = CHURCH as the bride of Christ (The Woman's role is to submit and to return the love she received from the Man)
Love requires denying ourselves. (Matthew 16:24)
Truthfulness
It was correlated with loyalty and faithfulness. No matter how many more equal or better people you meet, your love for that person does not waver. Short and sweet! Unfailing, unending, unshakable. A love in the likeness of God's love.
Endurance
Have you ever been told, "I love you forever"? So, does it mean that that person is willing to endure all things with you for the rest of your existence here on earth? If you're already in a relationship, ask God to help you to commit yourself to that promise. And if you're waiting or almost there, pray that God will prepare you well for that "forever" kind of love.
This acronym, according to Ate Neneng has been patterned after the perfect kind of love presented in 1 Corinthians 13.
***
There was another important lesson and reminder:
2 Corinithians 6:14 "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?"
Non-negotiable. If you are involved in a relationship like this or are planning to involve yourself in such, think again. The ending of a relationship not centered in Christ is always failure. If the other person is not in love with Christ, the danger of doing things out of emotions and personal desire is high. Again, the challenge is to deny yourself. Besides, is there anything sweeter than obeying God's command? If according to God's love-book, you should be together, have faith in Him that He already has written your love story and He has an awesome game plan for the other person to know and love Him first before allowing you to be together. Never ever try to do it your own way (that is, inviting him/her to your church then you will take over the salvation process- and we jokingly call it "evange-ligaw") because you are trying to overpower God's Sovereign wisdom in doing so. In the end his/her cause of coming to church would be you and not God. Our aim is to follow God's command first and be an instrument of His greatest plan.
"See the other person as someone who will be the mother/father of your future children and the one you will spend the rest of your life with in the Lord."
Time
This is one indispensable element of love. If you love someone, you will MAKE TIME. In another light, the time element as in right "timing' is in consideration. Take for example a teenager, particularly a high school or college student, who wants to enter into a relationship. How can he say that he can make time for the other person when he needs to attend to his homework, projects and other school activities first? Wait on God's perfect time.
Acceptance
One day you were both so in love with one another. The next day, you treat each other like strangers as if nothing happened. Why does it happen? "I don't know, but his family's background doesn't fit mine." "Oh, I found out that he has this illness." "Yes, he's an achiever but he can't play basketball or any instrument." "...He wasn't perfect after all." Will you be able to accept the other person's family, strengths and weaknesses? If you truly love a person, you will take the risk and trust God's will.
Selflessness (This is, personally, my favorite part☺)
A hardcore appreciation of the parallelism of the man-woman and God-church relationship.
MAN = GOD (The Man's role is to love as God loved the church; the Man is the leader in all aspects most especially the spiritual growth of both parties and their future family)
WOMAN = CHURCH as the bride of Christ (The Woman's role is to submit and to return the love she received from the Man)
Love requires denying ourselves. (Matthew 16:24)
Truthfulness
It was correlated with loyalty and faithfulness. No matter how many more equal or better people you meet, your love for that person does not waver. Short and sweet! Unfailing, unending, unshakable. A love in the likeness of God's love.
Endurance
Have you ever been told, "I love you forever"? So, does it mean that that person is willing to endure all things with you for the rest of your existence here on earth? If you're already in a relationship, ask God to help you to commit yourself to that promise. And if you're waiting or almost there, pray that God will prepare you well for that "forever" kind of love.
This acronym, according to Ate Neneng has been patterned after the perfect kind of love presented in 1 Corinthians 13.
***
There was another important lesson and reminder:
2 Corinithians 6:14 "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?"
Non-negotiable. If you are involved in a relationship like this or are planning to involve yourself in such, think again. The ending of a relationship not centered in Christ is always failure. If the other person is not in love with Christ, the danger of doing things out of emotions and personal desire is high. Again, the challenge is to deny yourself. Besides, is there anything sweeter than obeying God's command? If according to God's love-book, you should be together, have faith in Him that He already has written your love story and He has an awesome game plan for the other person to know and love Him first before allowing you to be together. Never ever try to do it your own way (that is, inviting him/her to your church then you will take over the salvation process- and we jokingly call it "evange-ligaw") because you are trying to overpower God's Sovereign wisdom in doing so. In the end his/her cause of coming to church would be you and not God. Our aim is to follow God's command first and be an instrument of His greatest plan.
"See the other person as someone who will be the mother/father of your future children and the one you will spend the rest of your life with in the Lord."
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