Apathy. It's so much easier. It's less painful. It's less complicated. People are bound to let you down; they are bound to fail. We live in a broken world full of lies, rejection, heartbreak. Relationships are often like wars - one side is always winning, always fighting harder leaving the other side in the dust to collect their wounded. With the risk of injury so high, why enter the fight at all? Wouldn't it just be easier to live life on the outskirts, caring for yourself and avoiding the possible threat of danger altogether?
Why should I even care?
Why bother loving others when there's no certainty that they'll love me in return?
These are thoughts that run through my mind constantly. Everytime someone lets me down, everytime I'm disappointed, everytime I face rejection I am reminded of how much it hurts to love, how much empathy costs me. I battle the desire to give it all up and live in solitude, to cut all ties and relish the freedom independence seems to bring.
But then I remember.
I remember how much I am loved, how much I am cared for. I remember how much pain was felt on my behalf. I remember how much pain I have caused because of my own imperfections. Suddenly, my selfish desire to protect myself seems so futile.
So I'll strap my helmet back on and forge out into the fray. I'll stand at the frontlines of the battle that is relationship and I'll take the blows that come my way. There is always a chance that I'll be wounded; scars are inevitable. But for every scratch and bruise I take I know that I am inflicting a far greater mark on those that I'm fighting for.
If, at the end of my days on this earth, at least one person can say that I have affected their lives because of my love for them, every pain will be far worth it.
(Please read 1 John 4:7-21)
No comments:
Post a Comment