The Declaration

There is a lovely love story that I find very fascinating considering the circumstances. It all takes place in rural Jerusalem. A young man sends out word that he is in love with an even younger girl. Because marriages were largely arranged by the parents of the two, it is not clear whether the young girl is as excited as the young man obviously was. Anyway the young man’s friends are all happy for him and the whole small town is cheers for them.

There is how ever one obstacle. The young man is not supposed to take the young girl to his home. Well, until a short period of time has passed. They are supposed to live as friends even when the law of the land deems her his wife. The other thing that law dictates is that the young girl is not supposed to get pregnant or engage with any man in conjugal acts.

Something happens. The young girl gets pregnant. Allegedly the creator of heaven and earth is the Man responsible. Imagine with me how the young man feels at that moment. His pride and joy has disgraced him before his friends and the very law of the land. Now he has to lead the mob that will see this girl stoned to death as dictated by the law of the land, now he has to let his heart desire another, now he has to hate whom he loved. The flower in his desert has turned into venom.

But to the surprise of all, he takes the young girl as his wife. That’s something he is not so proud of but there is another voice that he cannot seem to silence. This voice is like a stronger part of him. For this he would stand ridicule and despise. All that, he does stand.

There are times in our lives when we announce to a loved one that we love them. We make promises that are bigger than ourselves and I think we do well. In those moments we believe ourselves to be in love and to love. We believe well. Love is not just a verb. When we proclaim ourselves to be in love, we make an honorable statement. This statement lives years after we have made it. But just like life itself, the challenges to test it remain numerous. These challenges test the mortality of our honesty and depth in understanding when we made the statement.

There is a lot of good at the end of the tunnel. When we have been tested and proved true, when we have been tempted and yet we chose the right path, when we believed even when we were not able to see. I tell you there is a lot of good. There is a married couple who will sit and think of all the evil they have done to each other. Tow couples of that sort may exist and ye they will differ greatly in some things. In one the pair will have learnt to endure each other while in another, they will have learnt how to enjoy each other.

There is a pull that helps us go beyond the wrongs we have done to each other. That bond is not in the feeling but in the realization that from the well of the feeling is a reality that will stay long after we are gone. I tell my friend that love has no past tense and I know I am right. Love is here with us every day when we smile and when we cry. When we make the commitment to love someone we agree with both their present and future and many time their past too

We don’t turn our backs on them when calamity strikes; we stand in the realization of what it means to be the people we have declared ourselves to be.

Well, I have to give you a close of the story we started with. For starters, that story has never ended. It still lives on in me and in many like me. That small act of love gave birth to the savior of the world and many of us have enjoyed the fruits of his life. Because the young man remained true to his state and statement, the world is a better place today. You want to know why?
Find the book called the bible and you will find this story.