Love Actually

Good times with the launch of our new series love,actually. The movie poses an interesting question: "Is love actually all around?" I had fun comparing the love of ice cream to the love of mothers - and suggested that one shouldn't treat mothers in the same way that we do ice cream. I also indicated that the practical outworking of my love for my wife was quite different than that displayed for the NZ Rugby team...People were impressed I believe with my drawing on those profound prophets for the new generation The Darkness "I believe in a thing call love" (sung in high falsetto). But I think I may have lost just a few with my quoting of Denis de Rougemont (a French writer who wrote "Love in the Western World"):

“love ceases to be a demon only when he ceases to be a god”

CS Lewis is often credited with this statement which he cites in support of his contention that human love at its height tends to claim for itself a divine authority. God is certainly love. But the reverse is not true: Love is not God. A subtle but seductive deception.

Some new faces along again this week to the cessionlcommunity Sunday gathering. A family new to the area, a young woman in a difficult defacto relationship, some visiting Americans out here with Habitat, a young woman recently returned from a missions trip to Russia who knows some of our people, a bunch of teens from who knows where, my brother-in-law Brad (unfortunately my nephew was sick so we didn't see the family)...nice to see him there...in fact he was still there at close up time when we pray together, so I prayed for him...hoping to catch up with him this afternoon over the video he shot while there.

Right, time to go - off for my Monday morning reflection, planning, meditation, coffee...then lunch with my sister-in-law (Claire's sister). Should be good.

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