The power to encourage others, be unique in our views on life, or to offer our thoughts and insights that stirs the hearts of others...are often determined by the relationships we find ourselves in.
Relationships...we all have them. We have them with family, with our friends, and of course...the romance within our lives. Romance...a fine and wonderfully carved word, and yet presents itself with power to enhance a person...or destroy one. The choice lies in our hearts, our beliefs, and our interpretation of what the values of life are...including our interpretation of the Sacred Scripture itself.
The origin of the word Romance dates back to the Middle Ages. It was actually a word that was used to describe passages and letters that had been translated into the vernacular (present day language) from the ancient language of Greek and in particular Latin. Romance comes from the Latin word Romanicus...meaning Roman.
So...is the word Romance to be equated with the word we know... as love?
The word Romance is defined in the Oxford Dictionary as: " a feeling of excitement, a mystery associated...with love." Romance is associated in different forms...bound in sentimental feelings forged with tenderness, sadness, or nostalgia. Romance can take a person to an exaggerated train of thoughts, leading to self-indulgence if not checked and contained.
Romance can present itself with the thought of Idealism...even Perfection...making things appear better than the reality of life itself.
Romance presents itself in various settings including historical stories, sensual pleasures, and even in the time of war.
I think there are times in our lives we get the two mixed up...the word love and the word romance. Although they have the power to intertwine...romance left by itself can sometimes invite...harm. It mirrors the relationship between forgiveness and reconciliation...reconciliation without forgiveness...also has the power to invite harm.
The first thing about involving ourselves in a romantic relationship...is to understand it does not require the loss of your inner individual freedom, rather, a healthy relationship should encourage and increase your freedom through the expression of your thoughts. I remember a quote by C.S. Lewis, the great Christian apologist and lay theologian in the first half of the twentieth century. He wrote: " The more we let God take over, the more truly ourselves we become...because He made us...He invented us. He invented all the different people that you and I were intended to be. It is when I turn to Christ, when I give up myself to His personality, that I first begin to have a real personality of my own."
Four main elements that are involved in a romantic relationship: 1) romance 2) love 3) forgiveness and 4) reconciliation. For a Christian, our romantic relationship with another...begins in our relationship with Him. The relationship we have with Him is the key influence to our relationships we have on earth...including our romantic relationships.
Without His influence on our relationships, including our romantic relationships, the threat of toxin..like a sickness of the heart, can infect the relationship. For some, they live their entire lives, never reaching the potential...not only within themselves...but in their romantic relationships as well. It can even become like an "emotional cancer"...destroying the healthy part of an individual.
Uh oh...emotions...how much of a part do they play...in a romantic relationship? What then is the true foundation...to a healthy romantic relationship? More to come....
Relationships...we all have them. We have them with family, with our friends, and of course...the romance within our lives. Romance...a fine and wonderfully carved word, and yet presents itself with power to enhance a person...or destroy one. The choice lies in our hearts, our beliefs, and our interpretation of what the values of life are...including our interpretation of the Sacred Scripture itself.
The origin of the word Romance dates back to the Middle Ages. It was actually a word that was used to describe passages and letters that had been translated into the vernacular (present day language) from the ancient language of Greek and in particular Latin. Romance comes from the Latin word Romanicus...meaning Roman.
So...is the word Romance to be equated with the word we know... as love?
The word Romance is defined in the Oxford Dictionary as: " a feeling of excitement, a mystery associated...with love." Romance is associated in different forms...bound in sentimental feelings forged with tenderness, sadness, or nostalgia. Romance can take a person to an exaggerated train of thoughts, leading to self-indulgence if not checked and contained.
Romance can present itself with the thought of Idealism...even Perfection...making things appear better than the reality of life itself.
Romance presents itself in various settings including historical stories, sensual pleasures, and even in the time of war.
I think there are times in our lives we get the two mixed up...the word love and the word romance. Although they have the power to intertwine...romance left by itself can sometimes invite...harm. It mirrors the relationship between forgiveness and reconciliation...reconciliation without forgiveness...also has the power to invite harm.
The first thing about involving ourselves in a romantic relationship...is to understand it does not require the loss of your inner individual freedom, rather, a healthy relationship should encourage and increase your freedom through the expression of your thoughts. I remember a quote by C.S. Lewis, the great Christian apologist and lay theologian in the first half of the twentieth century. He wrote: " The more we let God take over, the more truly ourselves we become...because He made us...He invented us. He invented all the different people that you and I were intended to be. It is when I turn to Christ, when I give up myself to His personality, that I first begin to have a real personality of my own."
Four main elements that are involved in a romantic relationship: 1) romance 2) love 3) forgiveness and 4) reconciliation. For a Christian, our romantic relationship with another...begins in our relationship with Him. The relationship we have with Him is the key influence to our relationships we have on earth...including our romantic relationships.
Uh oh...emotions...how much of a part do they play...in a romantic relationship? What then is the true foundation...to a healthy romantic relationship? More to come....
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