Miracle Grow

This summer has been quite an interesting one. I say this mostly because God has shown Himself to me in the coolest ways possible. Think of this as an update on Ed's life.

Ever since the end of the school year, I have been attending Lifepoint Church. For those of you who may not know stuff about Lifepoint, it's an awesome place where God is moving CONSTANTLY. Never in my life have I seen such awesome love being shared with everyone, even with those that don't attend.

I quickly realized how friendly everyone was that I decided to try and see if I could get connected with serving there. I eventually got connected with their children's ministry and lifegroups (small groups) through Jesse McCarl, one of the best friends that I will ever have.

Just by helping out, I have been able to see how God works in the most random ways. I have been given the privilege of leading a small group of 7th grade guys during the week and let me tell you, those kids are on fire! They are talking about stuff that I didn't even think about talking to anyone about until recently. I am so honored that I get to pour into their lives.

Helping out at the children's ministry has also been a huge blessing. I can't even begin to explain how many opportunities God has put on my plate with this one. I have been able to become a small group leader for the 4th & 5th graders, help with production during the kids' service and even led worship!

God has given me such a passion for serving that I have seized every single opportunity and done work!

The reality is that God was placing all of this stuff in front of me for quite some time, I was just too blind to notice it. Being the human that I am, I had managed to bury myself in a bottomless pit. But God decided to send people into my life with some shovels and a little bit of Miracle Grow.

I am so thankful for these people who have become the kind of friends that last a lifetime. It just shows how awesomely in love God is with us.

And guess what? He's not done working in me yet...

there's a bigger story to this but that's for another day.

Love - pt. 1

What is love?

This is a question that many philosophers, scientists, psychologists and people in general throughout history have struggled to answer. The answers that have surfaced have only led us to even more questions. The truth is, defining love is an extremely hard thing to do.

Psychologist Robert Sternberg developed a theory, called the Triangular Theory of Love, in which love can be classified into three different types:

• Intimacy - the feeling of closeness, connectedness and bonding
• Passion - romance, physical attraction, and sexual consummation
• Commitment - pretty self-explanatory; the drive to stick together for an extended period of time (most of the time being the rest of your life)

Now, according to Sternberg, any combination (including each one of them by themselves) of these results in different types of 'love'; e.g. a combination of intimacy and commitment makes up the love that best friends have for each other, infatuated love comes from a love that is full of passion and a combination of all three make up a consummate love; the 'perfect' love.

Many theologians and pastors have also come up with a similar theory explaining love. This past weekend, the pastor of Lifepoint Church, Jeff Kapusta, talked about this. Coming from the terms that the ancient Greeks used to describe love, it is also composed of three different types:

• Eros - the passionate and intimate love; the erotic love.
• Phileo (or Philia) - the brotherly, companionate love; the BFF love.
• Agape - the unconditional and selfless love; the Crazy Love.

Eros and Phileo love tend to be the easiest to achieve and show. They are embedded into our human nature and are the most common in our lives, thus explaining why we can show these with such ease. Agape love is a whole 'nother story.

In short, Agape love is a love that lacks any condition or requirement and is completely altruistic; an unconditional and selfless love. The best everyday example of this can be seen in the love that a parent feels for their child; they will always love and be there for their child, no matter what their kid does. Yet, still, this is not true for everyone, since many people view their father or mother as someone who they would just rather forget.

The average person might view this love as nonsensical, irrational and crazy and they have a point; who in their right mind would care enough about someone else without there being the incentive of receiving something back in return. After all, we all have selfish desires and it would make sense to do something for someone expecting something in return (money, attention, recognition, fame, love, etc.). Yet this Love, this Crazy and nonsensical Love, is the very essence of what true Life is.

This Love tells the story of a Father. A Father who unconditionally loved his only Son. A Father who considered his Son the apple of His eye, the Light of His world, His everything. Yet this Father was able to enact the ultimate sacrifice. He selflessly gave up his beloved Son in order to save a people who were suffering due to their own harmful tendencies. He did what no parent in their right mind would ever do: let his Son die so that others would be spared. This irrational Love proved to be the most powerful form of love that humanity has ever seen. This was indeed a Crazy Love.

This Crazy Love comes from a Father that selflessly loves each and every single one of His children. A Love that reaches those who know Him and those who don't know him yet.

A Crazy Love that God pours out onto His people every second of every minute of every hour of every day. A Love that we can barely even begin to fathom. A Love that is Life itself.

So, how in the world, as mere humans, are we to handle this Crazy Love?

Is this what love is?