Most of us don’t go into a relationship thinking it’s a temporary arrangement.  We think of a long term, from here to eternity, everlasting kind of love. The kind of love that has no end. It sounds very romantic and almost ethereal, because every relationship here on earth is often peppered with self-absorption, salted with selfishness, and seasoned with negativity and often times problems. Petty disagreements can lead to all out fights and eventually separation.

God doesn’t think like us mere mortals.  He’s God.  His perception of us is much different than ours. He knows all about us and He wants us to be happy.  His love will never end, because of those emotions.  It isn’t because of our perfect behavior, the amount of money we give to the church or charity, the volunteer hours we’re stacking up in order to feel good about ourselves.  It’s because of God’s perfect love – a love we will never be able to replicate.  Our good deeds are nothing but filthy rags to Him.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if other relationships were like that?  If people would open their hearts and hands to those they cherish the most – To put them first – To be willing to make sacrifices – To forgive, forget, to love perfectly.  It would even be better if we were that way with our friendships, our co-workers, the waitress who serves us, the teller at the bank.  Think of how things would change if we could only love with the unconditional love God offers us every day.

Our last few years have made things more difficult. We’ve cocooned for a long time now and have forgotten how to be kind to each other. We’ve gotten used to isolation. I supposed some prisoners eventually submit to their way of life after a time. We can sit and complain about it, or we can do something to make it change.  Maybe today is the best day to start. Use words like compassion, kindness, encouragement, hope, faith, love, friendship in your vocabulary. Share the love that Jesus poured out for you on the cross. Let others know that they have that same gift available to them.

Life is too short to spend alone. We need each other and the best way to achieve that perfection is to be the first one to start the conversation.