Consider the following excerpts:
“Why was it, in the great history of salvation, that the Lord Himself chose to concentrate His efforts on the special covenanted love of one chosen people, declaring to them that “you of all nations shall be my very own” (Exodus 19:5)? Was it because God had only enough love to spare for one small group of people? Far from it!
"Rather, it was because love is only love when it is particular, and when the person receiving it is the object of special extremities of attention.
"Even Jesus hesitated to help a Canaanite woman, saying: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel” (Matthew 15:24). But it was precisely because of His ministry was to a select group that it became capable of spilling over into the whole world. There was nothing vague or hazily defined about Jesus’ love. It was not the sort of mushy, universalist sentiment that claims in theory to love everyone but in practice loves no one. No, Jesus’ love had a practical focus, and for that very reason it was able to overflow to all those outside that immediate focus.
"It
was a focus trained not only on the people of Israel but more
especially on one small ragged band of those people, and indeed even on
one particular person within that small group, “the disciple whom Jesus
loved.”Mason goes on to call this the Lord’s “strategy of concentrated love” which provides a pattern for married couples, who make vows to focus on one special person. This, he claims, “is intended to fill us up to the brim with love, to train us in the very depths of love and so to free us to have more love for others then ever before.”
This idea really makes sense with his next point: “For it is not really the love in a home that eats up time and energy but rather the lack of love. That is what really wreaks havoc in the in our married life, ensnaring us in never-ending self-analysis and robbing us of the energy to love others.”
It ought to comfort women like us (who want to save the world on some grand scale) that in fact, giving
preeminence to our spouse and children -- indulging them with all our
love, time and attention -- will bring us closer to the ideal of loving and inspiring the rest of mankind than any other pursuit: hence, my tardiness in getting this earth-shattering treatise scratched out… I’ve been preparing a little Family Home Evening for me and my honey.
“It
is the one person who wins over the many, the humble cause of the home
that prevails over every other worthy cause in the world.” The Mystery of Marriage
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Mona muses every Sunday at Mona's Gospel Musings and preaches romance in marriage at Mona's Musings with a Hint of Romance. She is the mother of four plus three and grandmother of two and the award-winning author or With Mine Own Hand: The Musical Account of Nephi. For a daily Hint of Romance, go to Mona's Musings on Facebook.
