Before the movie "Finding Nemo", came out Steve Jobs the founder of the Apple Computer company spent millions of dollars promoting it. Before a major push on merchandise Nike will sign a multi- million dollar contract with some sports star. Sometime soon you will see a major player in the clothing industry hire a celebrity to promote their product before the holiday rush. These companies think they have it figured out. How do they attract you to the product or service they are selling? The packaging!!
Millions of dollars are spent on researching and packaging many products and services even before they hit the shelves. If they can entice you enough, then they have a better chance to hook you into owning it. Many of us get the product home and when we open it up and it doesn't match the expectations the outside of the box conveyed to us. Then in a short period of time we lose our interest become disappointed and put it on a shelf only to go try and find another to fore fill our desires.
Let's say you have a child and they disobey you. Do you put them on a shelf and go have another or borrow one from the neighbor. No. You still value them, accept them and love them. You accept them in spite of their behavior and actions at the time. But why don't we take that same type of thinking with adults we know? It doesn't matter; friends, dating or married many times we love the other person because of what they originally brought to the relationship (the packaging, the hype). However, once we get to know that person we realize that they have some things that don't line up with our expectations of them or remind us of a past relationship that went sour. They don't fit in our packaged box anymore. We even try to mold them to fit, and when they don't we put them on an emotional shelf with an expiration date. In the beginning we loved to be around the other person more and were attracted to them because of who there were not in spite of who they are.
Jesus Christ is a great example to follow. Did Jesus die for us and loves us because of who we are? No! He died for us and continues to love us in spite of who we are. Even though we may disobey him or put him second best he still loves us. Even though at times we do not live up to his expectations, he realizes each one of us has things in our lives we could be better at. He knows we may continue to sin (Romans: 3:23) but he's not going to put us up on a shelf and find another one to love. He will continue to nuture, love and lead us closer to him. He sticks with us no matter what that is true love.
Let's all love our friends and close companions not because of what they bring to the table of life or what they can do for us, but love them in spite of their areas that don't line up with our expectations. Don't take a chance and lose a close friend, or even mate because they didn't fit into your expectation box. Accept them, value them, and Love them in spite of it all, you may just find a diamond in the ruff. Jesus did!
Greg Ryan is a best selling author of the Changing from the INSIDE OUT series. A powerful five step plan to better your life, get healthier, and have more energy! For FREE mini Course click here! http://www.resolutions.bz
Mercedes Benz s500 rentals Salem ..Faith is the remarkable force that gives us the empowerment... Read More
Is life challenging you to take a bigger leap? Are... Read More
Who Are you?Have you ever asked yourself the question 'Who... Read More
Shamanism is an ancient form of mysticism. Although... Read More
"But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and... Read More
One does not have to live long to realize that... Read More
Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell recently starred in the movie... Read More
The Mind in an Advanced Thought System:The center of our... Read More
Everything in the entire universe, big and small, visible and... Read More
Whether we admit it or not, we operate by emotion.... Read More
It's not exactly a news flash that we live in... Read More
It seems more people today are using the Christian god... Read More
The Bible tells us that we need to be led... Read More
Symbols and symbolism are popular in almost every civilisation, culture... Read More
The psalms of the Bible are a literary treasure chest... Read More
I was reminiscing with a friend recently about his 'dark... Read More
We make sense of our world via the senses. The... Read More
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. --ROMANS... Read More
"For lack of guidance a nation falls, but many advisors... Read More
I would like to share my experience, working with the... Read More
Aristotle referred to happiness as the most we can achieve.... Read More
If we don't behave according to a specific church's doctrine,... Read More
The 'As Above, So Below' law that is the combination... Read More
For some of us, spirituality is considered a religion, and... Read More
My fiancee' and I frequent a restaurant in L.A. called... Read More
Dowagiac cheap limo service ..Hopefully you're reading this article because you're intrigued by the... Read More
Some may ask, is there any truth to have a... Read More
One of the first steps toward understanding the Tarot lies... Read More
Does God care if I marry a gentile?Even as I... Read More
As we walk along our paths in life, we will... Read More
"They're crazy!" That's what they're saying about us. The majority... Read More
Do you have a servant's heart? Has God blessed you... Read More
Have you ever heard something that really "resonated" with you?... Read More
We shamans are a strange breed.....often we tend to isolate... Read More
Spending 'Quiet Time' with the LordFrom the beginning of my... Read More
When the Tsunami struck Asia and East Africa on December... Read More
"Let me take you down to a town called Paradise."Van... Read More
I was recently asked how I interpreted the Mayan and... Read More
Following are 17 questions that can be used as a... Read More
Realisation and repeated memorization of the true knowledge is the... Read More
Mother Nature has this uncanny tendency to turn upon herself... Read More
Freedom....The cherished goal of humanity throughout its history.No society has... Read More
Karen was the name of the reception person, who sat... Read More
Coming face to face with yourself in the space between... Read More
Our Creator is an infinitely loving and generous provider -... Read More
Prayer. It's the foundation of a Christian mom's life. Why?... Read More
Lately, I have been asked a lot of questions in... Read More
One of the first issues people on the spiritual path... Read More
1. Gabriel means: "God is my strength" or "God is... Read More
Are you looking for a way to improve your accuracy... Read More
Spirituality |