Thinking about love, God and believing deeply in something

I just returned home from the funeral of an 88-year-old man, the father of a dear friend of mine. Marty served in World War II and Korea, believing deeply in his country . He also believed deeply in education and learning and became a teacher for the next 35 years. He also believed deeply in playfulness and did that quite well also.

But was right at the end of his life that he had a very enlightening conversation with his beloved grandson. Shawn considers himself a deeply spiritual person whereas his grandfather was an atheist. And finally after years of discussion and debate, they agreed that at the end, there is a big ball of energy and that ball of energy is love.

And they agreed that ball of love is God.

So this got me thinking about love, God and believing deeply in something.

You see not only did Marty believe deeply in so many things, he lived his life according to his deepest values.

How many of us can say that?

There is research that suggests that if we live our lives consistent with our core beliefs about what we feel our lives should be about, we are more likely to be happy and more secure .

Maybe because Marty did that, he was more comfortable being playful.

I’ve long believed that the last thing we lose in life is our ability to love. And as theologian and bioethicist Stephen Post queries in his newest book: Is the Ultimate Reality Unlimited Love?, perhaps it is that love, that thing that many have called the primary emotion, that sustains us and the world around us..

Marty’s message is pretty simple and universal: Know what your deepest values are and live your life accordingly. And love deeply as many people as you possibly can. And then love more people more deeply tomorrow.

Thank you Marty, you continued to be a teacher throughout your life and beyond.