Love is simple, yet so strong...

During the fall semester of sophomore year of college a couple years back, I was struggling for meaning in my life.  God was not number one, instead was pride and the pursuit for selfish happiness.  From high school all the way up until the fall of my sophomore year, I was seeking my own will, which brought me into a down-wards spiral into my own sulk and misery.  A relationship with a girl had just ended and I was left with a deep hole inside that I had been trying to fill for a very, very long time.  I had been putting all my hope and trust into things of this world.  I was never fully happy on my own.  So I searched for happiness in relationships, in lust, in substance, and in many other selfish ways because deep down, I was not happy with myself, and I wasn’t the man I wanted to be.  Sure there were fun times, times where I thought I knew love, true love, but it was fake, it was not genuine, giving love.  And I began to be chained down to these things that were not love.

I was raised Christian by two amazing, loving parents, but I did not have a personal relationship with Christ, nor the reason or motivation to do so.  A life away from Christ does not 

only affect yourself, it affects the ones closest to you, and for me, because of my own hurt, the ones I loved were hurt as well.  My mother is an amazing Christian woman, however she did not have the greatest childhood growing up and was raised by an abusive step-father, causing her to have a condition called post-traumatic stress disorder.  Because of my own pride, I was not loving to her and honoring her as my mother.  I was kicked out of my own house during the summer and hopped from house to house for about a month.  Some mornings I woke up, not knowing where I would sleep that night.  My younger brother couldn’t even look me in the eyes because of how much I hurt my mother and father.  Because of a long unchaste, selfish relationship, I turned away from my friends, consuming all my time in my girlfriend, as if I was making her my "god."  I struggled having motivation in classes, and I fell away from my Lord, and Savior, who died for me.

My heart was left broken and I was left empty since I had put all my heart and trust into the things of this world.  Through prayer I decided to go back to church again.  And I decided to go on a retreat with my church and slowly, my pursuit of happiness ceased.  And the happiness I started to find in Christ was a billion times satisfying then any other happiness I had found before.  My heart began to awaken.  For I found that the only true happiness, the only true fulfillment, the only thing that can fill up these holes we have in our hearts in this life and in this world, is found in Christ.  For His love is the only genuine, 100% self-giving, unconditional, surrendering love, that sent His only son to come to Earth to die for our sins so we may have everlasting and eternal life in Heaven.  That is real love.  Sure since then I have forgotten His amazing love for me.  I do all the time and will continue to because I am human.  But when I forget or start to look for happiness on my own, I know in my heart where to turn to and who to surrender to at His feet.  Once I turned to back to Christ, and let the seed that my parents planted blossom, the fruits that it beard were amazing and beautiful, and continue everyday, and will the rest of my life.  This makes everyday a miracle to me, for I was and still am so undeserving of this love that God continually gives, never ending.

I started becoming a new man with a new heart and mind, awakened for the first time in years.  My chains slowly started to fall off because only a God-given love can free us.  The effects of Christ were and still are in every aspect of my life.  I now have a beautiful relationship with my family and have been striving to lead them to Christ when they fall away from Him.  I have friendships that are strong and genuine, looking out for the best in each other.  I finally have to search no more, because I have found a new home, not of this earth, but of the kingdom of Heaven.  I have found a joy, a hope, and a love stronger than anything else in this world; I’ve found it all in Jesus Christ.

Brothers, as men of God, we are strong and brave.  We must be virtuous and hold firm our Christian beliefs.  We must discern His plans for us, through prayer and works.  We must guide one another, especially women to the gates of Heaven, and if romantically pursuing a woman, we must treat them as gifts from God in which we must protect and honor.  We must protect women’s and our own physical and emotional chastity so that you and her may know that God is the core of our hearts.  We must treat our own bodies with respect, especially in such things as alcohol, the internet, and time alone, for we are temples of the Holy Spirit, both body and soul, neither should be neglected.

Brothers, we must also lead others both our brothers and sisters to Christ, but first we must be renewed inside, so that even just our presence may reflect God’s love.  It is a continual renewal that we are called to pursue.  We must look inside ourselves and overcome the obstacles that we face, so we can lead our brothers and sisters to Christ.  We must truly and genuinely love others and put their souls above ourselves.  Love is so powerful, so much more than this world’s definition.  Love is not conditional or selfish, rather unconditional and self-giving.  Love is simple, yet so strong, strong enough to free you from, sometimes your own worst enemy, ...you. Brothers, take this precious time now to prepare yourself for God’s amazing plans, that you may be worthy and deserving of his gifts he has before you.  Embrace your faith, keep the Sabbath holy every weekend, honor Him throughout your day, search for His grace and love in His word in scripture.  Follow the commandments, especially honoring your parents and family as they get older.  And above all pray, and develop an intimate and personal relationship with Jesus.

Brothers, seek God, our Father, our Creator, our King, our Shepherd with all of our hearts, all of our souls, our of our minds, and all of our strength, and see how much fruit His will brings. Pray and search for God’s plans, and surrender your own.  Resist and avoid temptations.  Strive for excellence in your classes.  And above all, take joy in God and his power and love.  Hold tight to his love through the battles and highs and lows of this life.  Be unselfish givers so that we may be receivers in Heaven.  And remember, His love is never failing.  

Our love must be as Paul writes in Romans 12: 9-12:  “Let love be sincere; hate what is evil, hold on to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; anticipate one another in showing honor.  Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.  Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer.”

I leave you, my Brothers, with a simple prayer I pray everyday: Lord, help me become the man that you made me to be.