Love is Life
As I read through my own blog, I come to realize that the theme of my current blog entries is Love. I didn’t decide on this theme, but somehow all that I want to say are revolving around the topic of love. Almost every secular movie and TV show (English, Chinese, Tamil, Malay, Hindi & Filipino) that I watched last month spoke to me strongly about love, as I was going through a challenge to love, forgive and accept others just the way they are.
I’ll begin with one of the Hindi movies that I watched – “Kal Ho Naa Ho” (We don’t know what tomorrow may be). It was an extremely touching story about how a single, young guy (name: Khan) who had very little time to live due to heart problems that he kept a secret, went around trying to bring cheer into the lives of whomever he met. Knowing that in time, he would remain nothing but a painful memory to the girl, he loved her (whom he knew reciprocated his love) so much to the extent of denying his love and materializing her marriage to her best friend (another guy who loved her with all his heart). These scenes really moved me to tears but I found the story of the girl’s mother even more powerful. The girl’s father had committed suicide when she was little and people blamed her mother for many years, because they believed that father could not cope with the burden of adopting a different little girl (insisted by the mother). When Khan entered their life, he discovered and revealed the hidden secret. The little girl was actually a product of adultery committed by the man and another woman. But his wife was so forgiving, and instead of being stung by hatred towards her husband’s unfaithfulness, she saw the need in the child’s eyes for love. She took the child as her own while her husband was too ashamed to face the truth and ended his life, and the child’s biological mother abandoned her. The woman’s silence, acceptance and forgiveness are just truly remarkable!
Another Hindi movie that I watched was equally emotionally moving. “Mohabbatein” (I don’t remember what it means, but it is something meaningful). This movie told of a lad from a boarding school with very strict rules, who fell in love with his principal’s only child, a beautiful student of the opposite boarding school. When the principal’s truthful and doting daughter confessed her relationship to her father, he expelled the lad immediately without ever meeting him or giving him a second chance, so that he would never be seen again. The daughter, on the other hand, longing to be a filial daughter but unable to forget her love, silently commits suicide. The principal never believed in love because to him, love meant pain. He loved his wife dearly but her death caused him much pain. He feared that love would cause his daughter pain. The young lad grew up to be a dynamic teacher (choosing to never marry another) and returned to the boarding school, with the secret goal of bringing love, life and color not only into the school, but also to the life of his unsuspecting former principal. The teacher tried ways and means to touch the life of his lover’s father, but the principal held on strongly to the belief that in the battle of love and fear, fear always won. Therefore he opposed the teacher in all possible ways. But in the end, the principal was proven wrong, and for once in his life, truly understood what love meant. Love will always win. What I find very noteworthy about the lad’s character was his ability to understand and forgive the principal’s actions (although they were wrong) against his love relationship, even to the extent to returning to show the principal the meaning of love. It was just beautiful.
Even as I watched those movies, I pondered over the words of Jesus I have learnt since young, “Love your neighbour as you love yourself…love your enemies…bless those who curse you…Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing (while being crucified on the Cross)…” Those movies illustrated the teachings of love in many ways… And I reflected on my own life. Last month brought back many unpleasant memories of Christmas time the year before. Every little impatient, mean or hurting action or word of the people involved haunted me with flashbacks of the events that took place, although totally unrelated. At one point, I looked into someone’s eyes with indescribable hatred in my heart, that I told Jesus, “I am really sorry to say this. I thought I had forgiven him, but I really, really hate him. Please help me love him the way You do.”
And God did help me love him, by allowing me to be in even more circumstances that made me sacrifice my comfort, my preferences, and my final say even when I am right and learn to be not to take hurting words to heart. I realized that to love means to forgive and accept a person just he or she is. It is a deliberate action that takes a lot of effort strength. It is not a ‘one-time’ thing but a continuous action. When I did not love, I became bitter on the inside and it affected the way I related with the people involved. It made me unhappy. When I denied my hatred, it only emerged stronger later. But when I chose to love, I began to see the other people’s own hurts that caused them to behave the way they did. And my forgiveness soon yielded results. I felt good on the inside – at peace with both God and man – and also on the outside, my body did not feel so tense anymore and my heart felt lighter.
Some people say that it’s unfair and weak to forgive those who hurt us or to let them off easily but Jesus knew best when He taught us to love. After all, it is for our own good. I tell myself “one good deed is enough to cover a lifetime of wickedness” and I recall the good a person has done, when hatred comes creeping. And if there is no good deed to remember, and at all times, Christ’ love on the cross is reason enough to forgive. Truly, love is life. I don’t see how there could be any other way to live.
I’ll begin with one of the Hindi movies that I watched – “Kal Ho Naa Ho” (We don’t know what tomorrow may be). It was an extremely touching story about how a single, young guy (name: Khan) who had very little time to live due to heart problems that he kept a secret, went around trying to bring cheer into the lives of whomever he met. Knowing that in time, he would remain nothing but a painful memory to the girl, he loved her (whom he knew reciprocated his love) so much to the extent of denying his love and materializing her marriage to her best friend (another guy who loved her with all his heart). These scenes really moved me to tears but I found the story of the girl’s mother even more powerful. The girl’s father had committed suicide when she was little and people blamed her mother for many years, because they believed that father could not cope with the burden of adopting a different little girl (insisted by the mother). When Khan entered their life, he discovered and revealed the hidden secret. The little girl was actually a product of adultery committed by the man and another woman. But his wife was so forgiving, and instead of being stung by hatred towards her husband’s unfaithfulness, she saw the need in the child’s eyes for love. She took the child as her own while her husband was too ashamed to face the truth and ended his life, and the child’s biological mother abandoned her. The woman’s silence, acceptance and forgiveness are just truly remarkable!
Another Hindi movie that I watched was equally emotionally moving. “Mohabbatein” (I don’t remember what it means, but it is something meaningful). This movie told of a lad from a boarding school with very strict rules, who fell in love with his principal’s only child, a beautiful student of the opposite boarding school. When the principal’s truthful and doting daughter confessed her relationship to her father, he expelled the lad immediately without ever meeting him or giving him a second chance, so that he would never be seen again. The daughter, on the other hand, longing to be a filial daughter but unable to forget her love, silently commits suicide. The principal never believed in love because to him, love meant pain. He loved his wife dearly but her death caused him much pain. He feared that love would cause his daughter pain. The young lad grew up to be a dynamic teacher (choosing to never marry another) and returned to the boarding school, with the secret goal of bringing love, life and color not only into the school, but also to the life of his unsuspecting former principal. The teacher tried ways and means to touch the life of his lover’s father, but the principal held on strongly to the belief that in the battle of love and fear, fear always won. Therefore he opposed the teacher in all possible ways. But in the end, the principal was proven wrong, and for once in his life, truly understood what love meant. Love will always win. What I find very noteworthy about the lad’s character was his ability to understand and forgive the principal’s actions (although they were wrong) against his love relationship, even to the extent to returning to show the principal the meaning of love. It was just beautiful.
Even as I watched those movies, I pondered over the words of Jesus I have learnt since young, “Love your neighbour as you love yourself…love your enemies…bless those who curse you…Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing (while being crucified on the Cross)…” Those movies illustrated the teachings of love in many ways… And I reflected on my own life. Last month brought back many unpleasant memories of Christmas time the year before. Every little impatient, mean or hurting action or word of the people involved haunted me with flashbacks of the events that took place, although totally unrelated. At one point, I looked into someone’s eyes with indescribable hatred in my heart, that I told Jesus, “I am really sorry to say this. I thought I had forgiven him, but I really, really hate him. Please help me love him the way You do.”
And God did help me love him, by allowing me to be in even more circumstances that made me sacrifice my comfort, my preferences, and my final say even when I am right and learn to be not to take hurting words to heart. I realized that to love means to forgive and accept a person just he or she is. It is a deliberate action that takes a lot of effort strength. It is not a ‘one-time’ thing but a continuous action. When I did not love, I became bitter on the inside and it affected the way I related with the people involved. It made me unhappy. When I denied my hatred, it only emerged stronger later. But when I chose to love, I began to see the other people’s own hurts that caused them to behave the way they did. And my forgiveness soon yielded results. I felt good on the inside – at peace with both God and man – and also on the outside, my body did not feel so tense anymore and my heart felt lighter.
Some people say that it’s unfair and weak to forgive those who hurt us or to let them off easily but Jesus knew best when He taught us to love. After all, it is for our own good. I tell myself “one good deed is enough to cover a lifetime of wickedness” and I recall the good a person has done, when hatred comes creeping. And if there is no good deed to remember, and at all times, Christ’ love on the cross is reason enough to forgive. Truly, love is life. I don’t see how there could be any other way to live.
posted by JJ at 6:42 AM
1 Comments:
Enjoyed a lot! »
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