Ariel Love vs. Advent Love
“I wish I could be part of your world”, were the lyrics that caught my attention. Ariel, the mermaid princess, gazed longingly at her prince and his two legged world. Ariel was the heroine, a women to be admired and emulated. She was a modern day virgin Mary. It might be posited that young girls should watch her story and desire to have the same noble virtues of this oceanic wondergirl. However, a seemingly different perspective began to nudge its way into my thoughts. Perhaps Ariel is not quite as nobel as we first believed. Upon further reflection, she appeared to me as a selfish, snot-nosed brat. Of course, you might ask, “how could anyone suggest such a thing about Ariel, after all, she’s a Disney princess. To a young girl, assailing the character of Ariel is akin to living in the southern United States and questioned Tim Tebow. Yet, consider the facts, a young girl follows her heart to pursue a momentary feeling of love, placing her entire race in peril. She presses forward in direct disobedience to the father she loves, being guided only by her heart. While this is the stuff of good television, it makes lousy advice for real life. After all, the feeling is great in the beginning, but after a couple of wrongly positioned toilet paper roles, long nights with loud snoring, and the ever relentless effects of gravity — which seems to pull everything on a human’s body to the ground — feelings alone may not be enough. This was Hosea’s issue when he chided Israel’s men. As their wives began to lose the flower of their youth, the men abandoned them. Their wives were entering menopause, and the men of Israel began looking for younger women!
What then is love? Indeed feelings have a place, but not a sole place. Love is also a choice that we make. Intriguingly, Bruce Lee was once noted for saying that “Love is like a friendship caught on fire. In the beginning a flame, very pretty, often hot and fierce, but still only light and flickering. As love grows older, our hearts mature and our love becomes as coals, deep-burning and unquenchable.”
After many attempts at starting a good fire for roasting hot dogs and smores, I have discovered a very important reality. A good fire takes time and persistence. Yes, it is easy to get a big flame — something an entire can of gasoline will achieve quite well. But if you want a fire that will burn hotter and longer, you need to feed it, stoke it, watch it, and fan it. It takes careful attention and intention, but when its burning right, everyone near will feel its warmth.
At advent, we light a candle to recognize the love of Jesus. In our post-modern age, love is a matter of attraction. We are told that “if it makes you feel good and authentic,” then you should do it. Yet, I can’t imagine anything felt good about the prospect of a cross. Why would we call the cross the ultimate expression of Christ’s love for us, it runs against the grain of everything that we have presently been taught? An entire American generation has grown up mentored on love by the likes of the Disney channel and Hollywood, Ariel and “Sleepless in Seattle”. We have been taught that love is an emotion that must be honored, a hunger that must be fed. Love’s beginning and conclusion are marked by one’s feelings.
The flame of Jesus’ love has given off an entirely different light. In Him we have discovered that love is not tolerant, but jealous. Love is not emotional, but passionate. Love is not momental, but terminal. Love is expensive to give, but free to receive. Love shares everything except the object of its affection. Love’s most perfect expression is revealed in the Trinity, given to humanity, and expressed to others. Thus, the light of Christ’s love must not merely be a flame of observation, but also of participation. We cannot truly love until we have immersed ourselves in the love of Christ, received his flame as our own, and warmed the hearts of the world by the intensity of its heat and the revelation of its glow. The love of Advent is the very, perfect love of God brought down to us through Christ and in the Holy Spirit. We must received this love if we are to ever know what real love is, or experience this real love in relation to others. Advent teaches that if you want to experience love, you must receive its source, Jesus.
Ariel Love vs. Advent Love
“I wish I could be part of your world”, were the lyrics that caught my attention. Ariel, the mermaid princess, gazed longingly at her prince and his two legged world. Ariel was the heroine, a women to be admired and emulated. She was a modern day virgin Mary. It might be posited that young girls should watch her story and desire to have the same noble virtues of this oceanic wondergirl. However, a seemingly different perspective began to nudge its way into my thoughts. Perhaps Ariel is not quite as nobel as we first believed. Upon further reflection, she appeared to me as a selfish, snot-nosed brat. Of course, you might ask, “how could anyone suggest such a thing about Ariel, after all, she’s a Disney princess. To a young girl, assailing the character of Ariel is akin to living in the southern United States and questioned Tim Tebow. Yet, consider the facts, a young girl follows her heart to pursue a momentary feeling of love, placing her entire race in peril. She presses forward in direct disobedience to the father she loves, being guided only by her heart. While this is the stuff of good television, it makes lousy advice for real life. After all, the feeling is great in the beginning, but after a couple of wrongly positioned toilet paper roles, long nights with loud snoring, and the ever relentless effects of gravity — which seems to pull everything on a human’s body to the ground — feelings alone may not be enough. This was Hosea’s issue when he chided Israel’s men. As their wives began to lose the flower of their youth, the men abandoned them. Their wives were entering menopause, and the men of Israel began looking for younger women!
What then is love? Indeed feelings have a place, but not a sole place. Love is also a choice that we make. Intriguingly, Bruce Lee was once noted for saying that “Love is like a friendship caught on fire. In the beginning a flame, very pretty, often hot and fierce, but still only light and flickering. As love grows older, our hearts mature and our love becomes as coals, deep-burning and unquenchable.”
After many attempts at starting a good fire for roasting hot dogs and smores, I have discovered a very important reality. A good fire takes time and persistence. Yes, it is easy to get a big flame — something an entire can of gasoline will achieve quite well. But if you want a fire that will burn hotter and longer, you need to feed it, stoke it, watch it, and fan it. It takes careful attention and intention, but when its burning right, everyone near will feel its warmth.
At advent, we light a candle to recognize the love of Jesus. In our post-modern age, love is a matter of attraction. We are told that “if it makes you feel good and authentic,” then you should do it. Yet, I can’t imagine anything felt good about the prospect of a cross. Why would we call the cross the ultimate expression of Christ’s love for us, it runs against the grain of everything that we have presently been taught? An entire American generation has grown up mentored on love by the likes of the Disney channel and Hollywood, Ariel and “Sleepless in Seattle”. We have been taught that love is an emotion that must be honored, a hunger that must be fed. Love’s beginning and conclusion are marked by one’s feelings.
The flame of Jesus’ love has given off an entirely different light. In Him we have discovered that love is not tolerant, but jealous. Love is not emotional, but passionate. Love is not momental, but terminal. Love is expensive to give, but free to receive. Love shares everything except the object of its affection. Love’s most perfect expression is revealed in the Trinity, given to humanity, and expressed to others. Thus, the light of Christ’s love must not merely be a flame of observation, but also of participation. We cannot truly love until we have immersed ourselves in the love of Christ, received his flame as our own, and warmed the hearts of the world by the intensity of its heat and the revelation of its glow. The love of Advent is the very, perfect love of God brought down to us through Christ and in the Holy Spirit. We must received this love if we are to ever know what real love is, or experience this real love in relation to others. Advent teaches that if you want to experience love, you must receive its source, Jesus.
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