Enter: A man sitting at a table, sculpting what seems to be a god. A girl walks over to him, and asks him of it. He replies-
"His hands will hold the bow. His arrows, some say, are tipped with love."
And to this, the girl says, "Yes, but others say they are tipped with poison."
"It is sometimes hard to tell. The symptoms are the same."
When i heard this scene from One Night With The King, i was amazed at what truth it held. sometimes, you know of a certain concept and the truth it holds, but it takes something like this to really make you notice it, and the beauty in it. Love and poison have two different results, yes, but their symptoms are very much alike. Everyone knows the attributes of poison: pain, sting, occasionally sudden sharp surprise, and sometimes a fatal scar. Take a moment, and apply those same symptoms to Love.
Does it still make sense? To me, it did. Love isnt always fun and sweet and pleasing to the heart. Often, if not all times, Love grows when it overcomes trials. Sometimes, even, Love is made known in these times for the first time. Why do you think old married couples are so in love with each other? Yeah, they've been around each other for over half their lives, but why is that significant? They go through everything together. They see each other in times of weakness, and learn to love each other through challenges and trials. Love is the fatal scar. Something beautiful, something to look at and remember how it got there.
The same is thought for in young "love". At first, feelings of "love" come through as sharp and surprising. but then, when the "love" ends, especially if it is a first love, the pain is always there. The pain cuts like a knife, and leaves a scar that will always hurt to remember.
I thought about this a little harder, and i thought of Love, Himself. When we have walked with Him for a long time ("old married couple" example), we look back and see that we dont have to hide the scars we've developed. Love makes us do crazy things. Sometimes, those crazy things involve jumping out into nothing when we cant see the bottom, and trusting that He will catch us when we fall. Sometimes, those crazy things hurt. We might have to give something up or let go of someone that hurts to let go of... Those scars make us stronger. That pain builds in us a fire that cannot be replaced. a passion that we cannot imagine. and all the pain only lasts for a short time. it is no comparison to the joy that is to come.
In young Love, when we first start walking with Him, we come from brokenness. We come to Him in pieces, because we finally realize we cant do it alone. when He picks us up from our darkness and sorrow, we begin to learn what Love feels like when He is administering it to us. dont get me wrong, it will be rocky for quite some time. But the result is what we look at. We'll look on it later as an old married couple looks at their life together: something to be proud of. we can say, "Love did that for me. When i was in the lowest of lows, and in the darkest most painful place, Love pulled me through. and it made my Love stronger, and me stronger."
Love can be painful. But dont waste your time looking at the poison of this life. Look at the Love that's being created because of it. Soon enough, you'll see the finished product.
Love is overcoming poison.
