It has been awhile since I have attempted to put my thoughts out in public via my blog. Frankly, I am not entirely sold on the idea that the general public is ready for glimpses of the inside of my brain! Courtesy of Starbucks I am wide awake, so I thought I'd finish up an entry I started recently.
"Clarity of mind means clarity of passion, too; this is why a great and
clear mind loves ardently and sees distinctly what it loves." -Blaise Pascal
There is an old adage that says that "love is blind." I don't really buy it-and I don't think it is just because guys are visual. Even visually impaired people find ways to see. People without sight are not the only ones described as blind in scripture. Psalm 135:16 tells of those who have eyes but cannot see and in 2 Kings 6:17 Elisha prays that God will help his servant to see the hills full of horses and chariots of fire. Of course, those less literal than I would probably argue that "love is blind" refers more to the tendency of those in love to not see things that might get in the way of their love: race, socioeconomic status, etc, or perhaps alludes to the type of infatuation-love that occurs when one or both people can see no shortcomings in the other. Then again, it is not hard to make the point that infatuation can only stand in the place of love for so long before it is revealed for a sham.
But, to get back to the original quote, Pascal describes not a 'love fog' that obscures or selective sight which sees what it wants to see but instead a "clear mind [that] loves ardently and sees distinctly..." Mirriam-Webster defines ardent as "characterized by warmth of feeling typically expressed in eager zealous support or activity." The definition of "fiery, hot" is also used. So in, other words, a clear mind loves with a fiery, hot, passion that which it sees clearly/distinctly.
So where am I going here? If this were an essay, I realize that I should have given my thesis statement already, but as it isn't, so here goes... Love isn't blind-it sees more, not less. Don't believe me? Please keep reading...
Have you ever looked in a mirror and not liked what you saw? I am going to go out on a limb and assume that most of us have at one time or another. (most of us probably do so far too frequently for that matter!) Admittedly, a mirror gives a very incomplete view. It gives no allowance for bad days, sickness, sunburn or bedhead and it cannot show our character, intellect, or the state of our hearts. If we are to love someone based on the mirror view, we are missing a lot, no matter how beautiful they are! "Mirror love" can hardly be expected to grow with time! "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." According to John 15:3, Jesus demonstrated the greatest love. Interesting because he saw past the outer person and looked at the hearts. He sharply rebuked the Pharisees who focused on outward appearance, even as he commended the faith of societal outcasts. His love went far beyond-to the people He knew entirely before he formed them in their mothers' wombs. He was not blind to their faults and failures and yet He loved them with great intensity.
I know not much of love-at least not of the romantic type-but from Jesus' example, it should be clear to me that if I am to love a woman in the way that God has designed, I must see clearly who she is. If I do not see that, my love cannot grow and flourish as it is not grounded in reality. Real love does not paint a picture of a person that isn't, though lovers may at times describe one another in glowing terms. Real love sees faults but as God offers us His grace because He loves us, real, agape, love is seasoned with grace. Real love sees the heart, perhaps only in small glimpses, but glimpses that cause us to want to see more. The beauty of a Godly heart does not fade with time.
