If something cannot go on forever, it will stop.
~~~~~~~ Stein's Law, named after famous economist Herbert Stein
Herb could have been the first iteration of Captain Obvious, with that pithy observation, but we disregard it all the time. We don't save for retirement. We die without a Will or a plan of any sort, despite the known inevitability of death and taxes. We get angry at our car for running out of fuel, even though we've been warned by the gas gauge and an untold number of bells and whistles and dashboard lights.
In other ways, however, instead of disregarding Stein's Law, we use it as a shield, defending ourselves against attack by forces we cannot control. The cynic will tell you that "all relationships end in sorrow," and when it comes to love and matters of the heart, it's easy to become jaded. As a child, maybe we experience the death of a favorite grandparent or a family pet. Later in life, our first "true love" introduces us to the concept of the broken heart. This will not be our last such experience. Sure enough, the cynic was right, so we decide that "By God, I'm not doing this again." Right.
If we reserve our love for only things that never die, then love itself is doomed to die. The cynic cleverly leaves out the part where love rewards us and those around us, oftentimes for many years. Sure, we have days when our road to Camelot takes an unexpected turn, so we must learn to walk more carefully, more gratefully, in the faith that better moments lie ahead. Take a lap around 1 John, Ch 4. "God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him." It doesn't die, it never ends. It gives us the confidence to love others, and to be loved.
Grace and Peace.
NT
In memory of Allen Jones, a man who knew love.
~~~~~~~ Stein's Law, named after famous economist Herbert Stein
Herb could have been the first iteration of Captain Obvious, with that pithy observation, but we disregard it all the time. We don't save for retirement. We die without a Will or a plan of any sort, despite the known inevitability of death and taxes. We get angry at our car for running out of fuel, even though we've been warned by the gas gauge and an untold number of bells and whistles and dashboard lights.
In other ways, however, instead of disregarding Stein's Law, we use it as a shield, defending ourselves against attack by forces we cannot control. The cynic will tell you that "all relationships end in sorrow," and when it comes to love and matters of the heart, it's easy to become jaded. As a child, maybe we experience the death of a favorite grandparent or a family pet. Later in life, our first "true love" introduces us to the concept of the broken heart. This will not be our last such experience. Sure enough, the cynic was right, so we decide that "By God, I'm not doing this again." Right.
If we reserve our love for only things that never die, then love itself is doomed to die. The cynic cleverly leaves out the part where love rewards us and those around us, oftentimes for many years. Sure, we have days when our road to Camelot takes an unexpected turn, so we must learn to walk more carefully, more gratefully, in the faith that better moments lie ahead. Take a lap around 1 John, Ch 4. "God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him." It doesn't die, it never ends. It gives us the confidence to love others, and to be loved.
Grace and Peace.
NT
In memory of Allen Jones, a man who knew love.
