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Susan Cowger

Art & Poetry

Art Poetry

The Love Affair

by Susan Cowger 4 Comments

Who can tell if this photo is sunrise or sunset? Did God cause the contrails to form so they would exactly follow the power lines? Does it matter? How do we know anything without mulling it over between us?

G K  Chesterton once said, “Let your religion be less of a theory and more of a love affair.”
       
That one can actually be emotionally in love with God is noteworthy. Exciting…
     
but perhaps prone to being tempermental. Rather flighty. Downright fleeting on occassion.
     
Perhaps what Chesterton is suggesting is the need for a change of our attitudes, our motives—something more personal. The most personal it can be—a love affair.
     
           

     
But doesn’t it seems a bit presumptive to jump straight to love affair? That kind of closeness is the fruit of time spent together, the culmination of sacrifical acts of love.
     
Time and sacrifice happen with or without such emotion as is in a love affair.
     
So is it necessary or even good that one seek to make religion personal? Or will that religion, in an of itself, become personally meaningful in the doing?
     
I had a professor once say that the surest way for a poet to fail is to set out to write a love poem. He said, write about relationship, the acts, the images, and leave it to those who read your words say, “Ahh, it is a love poem!”
       

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October 25, 2009 , Chesterton, love affair Blog

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Keisha Valentina says

    October 29, 2009 at 10:37 pm

    Ah… Beautiful.

    Amen.

    Reply
  2. Craig and Bethany says

    October 26, 2009 at 5:35 am

    Maybe marriage would be a better metaphor or template. How often are we surprised by love here in both theory and practice?

    Then again maybe it is like the difference believing honey is sweet and actually tasting it. Suddenly all the theory in the world makes no difference compared to the taste.

    Reply
  3. Dana says

    October 26, 2009 at 3:40 am

    PS. Feels to shallow to me.

    Reply
  4. Dana says

    October 26, 2009 at 3:22 am

    The idea of a comparing with a love affair is interesting but uncomfortable for me. Relationship with God is more serious to me than a love affair.

    Reply

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