Love is a rose
but you better not pick it
It only grows when it’s on the vine.
A handful of thorns and
you’ll know you’ve missed it
You lose your love
when you say the word “mine”.
–Neil Young, recorded by Linda Ronstadt
This verse contains enough good thoughts for a short novel. But they are meaningful.
Trying to possess something or someone ruins the entire experience. They say that money is the most frequent cause of marital problems. But I’d bet that money quarrels are merely a symptom of deeper problems. Let’s use the song–“say the word mine.”
It’s when we put ourselves first that problems begin. When we don’t outgrow our inner 2-year-old, whose favorite word is “mine.” A 2-year-old really doesn’t differentiate a distance between herself and the other. Everything revolves around him. But, that is natural child development.
When we’re 40 and still acting that way, well, that’s a problem. Time to see a shrink.
I sing this (or read it) and I cannot get everything that John wrote in the New Testament.
Jesus as the true vine. We obtain our life nourishment from him. Separated from the vine, we just wither and die. Sort of like this love that someone wanted to possess and in so doing crushed it.
I think of all the times John talks about love. God is love. We should all love. The world will know Jesus’ followers by their love (oh, if only this were true).
Then I think of Jesus when he checked up on people and pointed out pride and self-absorption. His instruction was to be humble–not weak as the word is often misunderstood but simply placing others ahead of us. It actually takes strength–strength of character, strength of faith–to be humble. The easy route is to boast, to put ourselves first (people tell me, “but of course I put myself first, duh”), to exaggerate our successes, to talk about ourselves.
Love is a rose. I love that picture.
Faith Venture 