Giving , forgiving

Tis the season for giving so they say… but it’s the receiver who places the expectations on the gifts. Gifts come with expectations and as always disappointments. Buying those biscuits, it becomes worthless because they don’t like it, they don’t appreciate it and well it becomes a waste of money. I’m really tired of giving to them. The expectations are raised so much. Some times I wish that all these pretense are thrown aside.
Going to HK was meant to be a gift but it turned out… be a grossly misrepresented act of trying to love. Parents, how does a child repay his or her gift in her most frail state? We hardly knew you, we hardly know what you want, because you hardly knew us, and the distance that you have with us makes it so difficult to even try to know you. Does any one ever give thanks for trying anymore?
And so when the power shifts and the children get older, the parents have no say. Just take a look at what I saw at ocean park. The lost and found was not the children, it was the parents left aside because they were too old take the rides at the park. You’d see the poor and the old (Mostly the same), living in the city trying to make a living.

I’ve been reading a book of late, it says, love in hard places. Its not what some would consider and easy read, dealing with the clichés where people talk about the love, the sentimentality of it, the reality of it. I’m really struggling to love anybody and anyone right now, except maybe myself. What one gives of love, it is usually thought to be perfect. Yet, the result is usually one of imperfection where the recipient upset believes that whatever we have given was not the best. I always thought about thinking for others first, anticipating what others would think or do. Love however is not just mere niceties. The reality is this; We will always continue to receive imperfect love. It does not matter even if the intentions are perfect or not, we will view it badly. Of course there would be times that it matches, this I say for close relations. (Not necessarily, parents or family) Yet the important part of it all is the response which we give.

When we give love, it is imperfect. Yet when we receive love, we can be perfect in our actions by treating it with joy, and as Philippians 4:8 whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
Let us even receive the love given with forgiveness, that this act is really one of trying. The act in itself is the love given, not the give.

For giving of gifts is imperfect, yet forgiveness for the gifts shows the understanding of the true act of giving.

I’m going to try to love. Not just in the act of giving love, but the act of receiving love. I must say that I’ve learnt so much from this trip. A community of friends who really love. Differences are bound to be there, I’ve really been very selfish in my actions actually. Why am I not the first… the first to forgive, the first to love, the first to let others know that I am wrong. Imperfection. To be made perfect in Christ.

Love always does its most impressive work in hard places. D.A. Carson