Sacrificial Love – by Oscar E V Fernando
If you feel affection to your neighbor or your romantic partner-it is concluded as love-is it love flowing from the gentle nature of man-the very ingredient he/she is made of-in the creator’s stature and original design and accepted in faith by the so called unwise and the simple-following the admonition to be like children?
is that divine plan of pure love-now contaminated-needing a determined effort to find this pearl of great price only at a price and sacrifice?
they say they have fallen in love-whereas in many cases it would appear they are in a trance with self-hypnotism-adoring each other with a hypnotic make believe
do we not see that some of these cooing love birds when faced with their first litmus test in bearing mutual sacrifices- stumble and fall-a common instance being the arrival of a child-when the molly coddled son/daughter now turned father/mother tries to evade responsibility of breaking rest when the new born cries at night-and the bubble of the ‘love trance’ bursts and the so-called love flies off through the window!
hence today’s speedy race for divorce and separation-with the two of them eagerly pampered by society and media-for their greedy gains
should not parents train children to make sacrifices for the sake of family and co-siblings-so that they may discover that love is not only a sentimental feeling of affection but that sacrifice underlies true love-such as to love unconditionally-named by experts on the subject as compassionate or agape love-and exemplified as
- Love with no strings attached and offered freely for the recipient’s happiness
- A love obviously not easy but attainable with practice-to discover that this love is not how you feel but how you react to another in trying conditions-bringing about uneasiness to the ego
- unconditional love implies forgiveness on being wrongly treated-like Christ forgiving his crucifiers
- it is to love those not deserving your love
- not running away when the going gets tough-like deserting your needy family
- embracing a murderer in prison-like Moher Theresa on the notion that the killing was done due perhaps to society’s cruelty-thereby melting love frozen deep in the heart of the prisoner-thus assisting in his reformation
The list is endless as human beings have been made in love and pushed to an ocean of love in which he/she must swim in love and survive with joy–or sink in in hatred and despair like the cooing birds who flew away through the window of their love nest.
It is good to ponder on the prodigal son’s father wo had heart pains when the son disobeyed and left him for greener pastures but decided to come back and he awaiting anxiously to welcome him with an embrace at the door step-a pure and crystal-clear example of sacrificial/unconditional love
Also ponder on the unconditional forgiveness offered by Christ to his crucifiers and the inevitable resurrection that follows every sacrifice at a crucifixion!
Prudent in deed is the Divine Admonishment to-take up thy cross and follow me-a cue also to those couples hotly intending to make up or break up their love nest incurring heavy legal cost!
Oscar E V Fernando
