TREASURE IT!
I am facing the screen, hands on the keyboard, grasping for words. Ahhh... it's been a while. I don't want this day to pass without unearthing my heart.
For many weeks, months even, I've pondered on the title "Confessions of an Aldub Ambassador." For me, "ambassador" is such a big word with big responsibility. I feared the commitment that came with it. I remember having shied away from it when, many years back, colleagues tagged me with it. I'd rather serve in obscurity than carry a title tied with people's expectations.
Today though, 3:46 am, Batangas City, Philippines, I have realized that titles don't really matter. True, I've been given this privilege and a lovely logo on my Twitter DP but more than the title (you too, can be an ambassador), it's an honor to be given a platform to share my greatest passion. I am humbled to be a messenger of hope to the weary, clues to the lost and love to the lonely.
So why 3 Cs of Valentine? I don't know yet but as this blog closes, we'll find out.
Cancer. This. Millions of "Why" have been asked because of this illness, this malady which knows no age, no gender, no race, no societal status. My father died of it. My uncle's life, too, ebbed away with it. I've heard many people use an F word to curse it as if cursing it would shield them from its claws. On the flip side, I've known people who have lived through it, are living with it, and are actually grateful for it because cancer have made them better than who they were before it came.
So what has cancer got to do with Valentines? It spurs you to have a different take on life. It moves you to experience a different kind of romance, a love like no other, a love that is true. Yet should we wait to be stricken with cancer before we let true love in?
Confessions. Have you seen Bad Religion's video of their 1994 song "Stranger than Fiction"? I couldn't help but notice the allusion to the burning of books in Bebelplatz during Hitler's time. That same theme was seen in the flick "The Book Thief" based on the book penned by Markus Zusak. Adolf Hitler was successful, to some extent, in spinning his own brand of truth and political agenda. But not for long. People hid and did what they could. At the opportune time, those whose voices were silenced with fear spoke and the truth came out.
In most days truth is, indeed, stranger than fiction. We hardly notice it and whether we admit it or not, lies are deeply entrenched in the world's value system. Fears and doubts abound. We get badly hurt and betrayed even by the people we love and trust. Yet with genuine confession comes forgiveness...and freedom. Why wait for another occasion? Today could be that day for you.
Christ. He might not be exactly who or what you think he is. Maybe you have heard of him, maybe you haven't. There'll be no judgment here - promise. So please bear with me on this as it unfolds.
Instead of Christ, why not Cupid? Good question.
Now let me ask you: if you could go on a trip from your country to Paris (or any destination of your liking), would you book a direct flight or go nonstop? Fasten your seat belt: a direct flight and a nonstop flight are two different things. Many travelers mistake one for the other or think they're one and the same - they're not.
Similarly, when you think of love, Cupid and Christ are not the same. Cupid takes you on a plane ride with only one kind of love on the menu: eros. Cupid is to the Greeks as Eros is to the Romans. Wikipedia hails Cupid as the god of "desire, erotic love, attraction and affection," collectively referred to as romance. That's all Cupid has for you - romance.
Christ, on the other hand, has a smorgasbord of love in the plane. He doesn't only serve eros (it can go stale after a while), he also dishes out philia, storge and agape. Renowned novelist C.S. Lewis in "The Four Loves" wrote about the four types of love which besot any living, breathing, human being at one point or another. Christ knows all about these four to a tee. If “God is love”a and Christ “is the image of the invisible God”b then how couldn't he?
God loves you. Have an awesome Valentines' Day!
---
a 1 John 4:8; bColossians 1:15; cColossians 1:15-17
I am facing the screen, hands on the keyboard, grasping for words. Ahhh... it's been a while. I don't want this day to pass without unearthing my heart.
For many weeks, months even, I've pondered on the title "Confessions of an Aldub Ambassador." For me, "ambassador" is such a big word with big responsibility. I feared the commitment that came with it. I remember having shied away from it when, many years back, colleagues tagged me with it. I'd rather serve in obscurity than carry a title tied with people's expectations.
Today though, 3:46 am, Batangas City, Philippines, I have realized that titles don't really matter. True, I've been given this privilege and a lovely logo on my Twitter DP but more than the title (you too, can be an ambassador), it's an honor to be given a platform to share my greatest passion. I am humbled to be a messenger of hope to the weary, clues to the lost and love to the lonely.
So why 3 Cs of Valentine? I don't know yet but as this blog closes, we'll find out.
Cancer. This. Millions of "Why" have been asked because of this illness, this malady which knows no age, no gender, no race, no societal status. My father died of it. My uncle's life, too, ebbed away with it. I've heard many people use an F word to curse it as if cursing it would shield them from its claws. On the flip side, I've known people who have lived through it, are living with it, and are actually grateful for it because cancer have made them better than who they were before it came.
So what has cancer got to do with Valentines? It spurs you to have a different take on life. It moves you to experience a different kind of romance, a love like no other, a love that is true. Yet should we wait to be stricken with cancer before we let true love in?
Confessions. Have you seen Bad Religion's video of their 1994 song "Stranger than Fiction"? I couldn't help but notice the allusion to the burning of books in Bebelplatz during Hitler's time. That same theme was seen in the flick "The Book Thief" based on the book penned by Markus Zusak. Adolf Hitler was successful, to some extent, in spinning his own brand of truth and political agenda. But not for long. People hid and did what they could. At the opportune time, those whose voices were silenced with fear spoke and the truth came out.
In most days truth is, indeed, stranger than fiction. We hardly notice it and whether we admit it or not, lies are deeply entrenched in the world's value system. Fears and doubts abound. We get badly hurt and betrayed even by the people we love and trust. Yet with genuine confession comes forgiveness...and freedom. Why wait for another occasion? Today could be that day for you.
Christ. He might not be exactly who or what you think he is. Maybe you have heard of him, maybe you haven't. There'll be no judgment here - promise. So please bear with me on this as it unfolds.
Instead of Christ, why not Cupid? Good question.
Now let me ask you: if you could go on a trip from your country to Paris (or any destination of your liking), would you book a direct flight or go nonstop? Fasten your seat belt: a direct flight and a nonstop flight are two different things. Many travelers mistake one for the other or think they're one and the same - they're not.
Similarly, when you think of love, Cupid and Christ are not the same. Cupid takes you on a plane ride with only one kind of love on the menu: eros. Cupid is to the Greeks as Eros is to the Romans. Wikipedia hails Cupid as the god of "desire, erotic love, attraction and affection," collectively referred to as romance. That's all Cupid has for you - romance.
Christ, on the other hand, has a smorgasbord of love in the plane. He doesn't only serve eros (it can go stale after a while), he also dishes out philia, storge and agape. Renowned novelist C.S. Lewis in "The Four Loves" wrote about the four types of love which besot any living, breathing, human being at one point or another. Christ knows all about these four to a tee. If “God is love”a and Christ “is the image of the invisible God”b then how couldn't he?
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”cIt's now 5:51am, February 14, 2016. It's Valentine's Day as the world knows it. Love, in its many colors and shapes will be on display. Some will celebrate, some won't. I confess, I didn't know my post will come to this. Yet I am certain of' this one thing: of the three (or make that 4) Cs above, only Christ can truly put the awe back in awesome. Why not choose him over Cupid this time?
God loves you. Have an awesome Valentines' Day!
---
a 1 John 4:8; bColossians 1:15; cColossians 1:15-17
1 comment:
This is super nice AA Ancore! Na inspire tuloy ako magsulat ng Valentines blog. Thanks for this! Muwaaah! 😘
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