Jonathots Daily Blog
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That Can’t Go Away
1. Faith…
For we need something to believe that congeals our sanity with our talent.
2. Hope…
We require a dream to chase that sometimes chases us back.
Jesonian… April 1st, 2017
Jonathots Daily Blog
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Unconditional love.
The phrase has been so overused that now it is tossed off as a given.
It is a symbol of tolerance, a byline for acceptance; a teary-eyed sentiment conveying that we are truly embraced by affection.
If by unconditional love you mean verifying and legitimizing everything people do, then absolutely not. But if by unconditional love you mean a decision to stay with people and continue to be supportive, even though they are struggling or having problems, then assuredly.
But the definition is a slippery banana peel which needs to be clarified. It takes seven verses from the Good Book in Matthew the 16th Chapter to do so. These define what unconditional love is from the perspective of Jesus, who came to show us the attitudes and mind of the Father in Heaven.
In the 16th verse of that 16th Chapter in Matthew, Peter has a brilliant moment. When asked by Jesus, “Who do you think I am?” he quickly replies, “You are the Christ, the son of the living God.”
Jesus steps right into him with praise–and not only praise, but offers the status of a new name, and says that because of his great answer, he will be given more authority.
But just a few verses further, when Jesus is explaining to the disciples where the Jerusalem experience might lead, and that he will be killed by the Jewish elders and leaders, Peter rebukes him. I don’t know–maybe the disciple was high on his own praise–but he says that Jesus is mistaken–nothing like that could happen.
Under the popular concept of unconditional love, we would expect Jesus to say, “That’s all right, Peter. It is a bit difficult to comprehend. But hang in there–you’ll eventually get the idea.”
Under the umbrella of unconditional love, we would not expect, Jesus to call him Satan simply because he didn’t understand what was going on. But that’s exactly what Jesus does.
Because even though it says that “God so loved the world because he gave his only begotten son,” everlasting life is contingent upon us accepting that gift.
We are told that we are saved, but we are also warned that we will have to endure to the end to receive the realization.
The definition of unconditional love from the aspect of the Jesonian is as follows:
“I will love you enough to tell you the truth, because the truth will make you free–and only when you’re free do you really learn to love.”
When you remove the truth from love, what you have is flattery. It may feel the same, but it lacks the veracity to sustain us through the hard times, where our weaknesses will obviously be exposed.
To love someone is to tell him or her the truth. The truth grants the individual the ability to be free of the humiliation of being exposed. And once absent fear, a freedom to love is unleashed.
I am afraid that people who accept unconditional love as a guarantee that they will never be challenged will never truly learn to love.
- Jesus loved Peter enough to praise him–when it was the truth.
- He loved him enough to call him Satan when that also was the truth.
- And even though Peter denied Jesus, Jesus never denied Peter.
Get your definition of unconditional love correct and then you can implement it:
“I love you enough to tell you the truth, so you can be free to learn to love.”
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PoHymn: A Rustling in the Stagnant … February 15th, 2017
Jonathots Daily Blog
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To Ransom Many
Faith is worn thin from misuse
Truth is ravaged by abuse
Hope is shaky from despair
Kindness awaits a soul aware
Blessing visits the common heart
Who’s cursed, battered, afraid to start
Scary sounds, grumpy frowns,
Gunshot rounds, indifferent clowns
The circus frightens the children away
The beasts are starved, stalking their prey
Great need in the street
The angels retreat
And close the shutter
Each heart aflutter
Is danger really everywhere
Or is there still the chance to share?
When fear has reached its jaded perfection
The needy and soulless are absent affection
But will we refuse to be deterred
And bring the beauty which is preferred
Grace is the chilling sensation
We are spared from aimless damnation
Dreams flourish, visions aplenty
Love arises to ransom many
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G-Poppers … September 2nd, 2016
Jonathots Daily Blog
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G-Pop considered a beautiful thought: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Suddenly a fresh breeze of wisdom blew across his mind. If we’re supposed to love our neighbors as ourselves, it certainly is much easier to love them if we believe they’re a lot like us. Actually, it becomes nearly impossible to express affection and respect if we find they differ too much.
So any attempt to make human beings culturally diverse is feeding the racial retardation. We first must become common, and then manifest our traditions and preferences.
But without discovering the common good, the common nature and the common cause of the human race, we open the door to giant chasms of misunderstanding.
Perhaps the most overrated and ill-founded notion is, “There’s no one in the world quite like you.”
Prepare yourself for a truth–there are millions of people in the world like you. You cannot establish uniqueness by your molecules or quirks.
You are part of a species.
As part of that species, the thought of loving your neighbor as yourself is the oil and grease that allows you to move among others without friction.
So the ignorant may express bigotry through racial slurs and feelings of superiority, but those who deem themselves intellectually astute also promote prejudice by trying to box the human race into little containers of culture.
G-Pop wants his children to understand that they will never be able to love their fellow travelers until they see these humans inside themselves, and see themselves inside their brothers and sisters.
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PoHymn: A Rustling in the Stagnant … May 4th, 2016
Jonathots Daily Blog
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Oh, God
Someone wants to touch me
Chilling
A kiss is near my lips
Exhilarating
A friend has chosen to remain
Invigorating
An embrace warms me
Breathtaking
Eyes gazing at me with passion
Trembling
A whisper of warmth on my cheek
Seduction
The fragrance of a lover aroused
Edenic
Slowly gliding toward connection
Spinning
A fevered sweat tingling on my brow
Heated
Hands seeking healing affection
Probing
Persistent, yearning, heart-pounding
A ragged breath
Lingering, mingling, enjoining
Treasuring
Sweeter, rhythmic, faster
Saturated
Panting, groping…release
Oh, God
Thou art mindful
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Ask Jonathots … October 29th, 2015
Jonathots Daily Blog
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Are you supposed to like your siblings? I’m twelve and my sister is fifteen. She always acts like she’s better than me and I can’t stand her. My mom says that will change but I don’t see it happening anytime soon, if ever. How does this work? Nobody I know likes their brother or sister. I feel bad saying it, but it’s the truth.
There is an old saying which is basically true: “Familiarity breeds contempt.”
And as you probably know, the word “family” is at the root of familiarity.
There is absolutely no reason to believe that because people share certain aspects of DNA, they have natural emotional linkings to one another.
There is also historical fact that the heroes of our past had many problems dealing with their families, often having to go against those ties to achieve their purposes.
You don’t have to go any further than Jesus of Nazareth to discover squabbling among siblings. The Gospels make it clear that his family did not believe in him.
That being said, I contend that the purpose of family is to place us in a boot camp.
It’s a chance for us to find ways to get along with adversaries who live in our midst, eat at the same dinner table, share in grief and celebration, and acquire the ability to be merciful, gracious and forgiving, so that when we get in the real world, we are prepared to do so.
For this to work, we must be willing to admit that our families are not perfect, nor were they designed to be naturally connected.
In other words, if you were able to look at your sister as just another human being that you needed to deal with rather than some sacred creature born within your lineage, then you would have a much better chance to put your relationship in perspective, and maybe even understand her ways.
Brothers and sisters within a household fight with each other because we tell them they need to get along–simply because they’re related. It sets a horrible precedent, and we begin to believe that in the outside world we can avoid the people who disagree with us, and only hang around with those individuals who seem to be perfectly agreeable to our ideas.
What is your best procedure in dealing with your sister since you’re twelve years old? Do exactly what you’ll need to do when you’re 22, 32 or 72 years old: find common ground.
Don’t ever try to go beyond common ground. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself trying to change people, or worse, judge them because they don’t meet your standards.
If for some reason you cannot find common ground, then retreat to a position where peace can be achieved.
This is real life.
Forcing people to think they should love each other only leads to pent-up resentment, and worse, explosions of anger later on.
- What do you like about your sister?
- Is there anything you appreciate?
- How is she valuable to you?
Try to pursue those areas, and avoid the parts that upset you.
This is called growing up.
The overemphasis on family in our culture has not created more loving people.
It is the promotion of loyalty–often without affection.
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Jesonian: F. A. A. E. … October 18th, 2015
Jonathots Daily Blog
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In an age when Facebook has attempted to simplify relationships down to “friend” and “unfriend,” it might be of social significance to each one of us to look at the Jesonian approach to human interaction.
Contrary to popular opinion, Jesus did not love everybody with the same intensity. There were measures, concerns, confinements and meters to his affection and devotion.
Understanding that those judgments were not based upon prejudice, but rather, practicality, is the beginning of forming a way of dealing with humanity, preventing you from becoming jaded.
Jesus put human relationships into four categories:
1. Friend.
His definition of “friend” was very specific. He traveled with twelve disciples for more than three years before he referred to them as friends–and then he said he felt he could do so because he could “share his life with them.”
A true friend is a rarity because you must be willing to share the good, the bad and the ugly without fear of incrimination.
2. Acquaintances.
These are people Jesus interacted with who shared a common purpose, but not necessarily a transparency. They were the many individuals who believed on him because they encountered a miracle. But generally speaking, these acquaintances did not end up following him, but departed on their own to start a new life, or were instructed by Jesus to go back to their homes and spread the good news.
3. Adversary.
It will probably astound you when I say that most of the interaction you have with your fellow-travelers will be adversarial.
An adversary is someone you really want to grow to appreciate and love, so you’re learning to cooperate with each other, while also being fully aware of your differences. This is why Jesus told us to “reason with our adversary.” Don’t criticize them; don’t kill them. Find the areas where you concur, and interact in those ventures without forcing agreement in others.
4. Enemies.
And finally, an enemy is simply defined as someone who does not wish you good will. Enemies are not happy when you succeed.
They may not plot against you nor gossip but they do not rejoice when you rejoice, nor mourn when you mourn.
This is where the variety and intensity of Jesonian affection is put into place. So:
We love our friends because we can be completely open with them.
We honor our acquaintances because we share so much in common that it establishes a deep sense of human-hood.
We commit to our adversaries because they keep us thinking and challenge us to have a good reason for what we believe instead of stumping and stomping around about our contentions.
And we respect our enemies because that is the only way we can assure ourselves that their animosity will not easily be turned into action against us.
- Friends are rare.
- Acquaintances are growing.
- Adversaries are plentiful.
- And enemies are few.
Fortunately, the treatment for all of them is easy to remember:
A multi-faceted love.
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