Of Love and Lifeboats: Expounding on "Sacrificial"

Professor J,

When we run out of things to discuss :) I think we should produce a dictionary where we each give our own definition of every word (in our spare time, of course). We love to parse them so! LOL

The sacrificial love I was referring to in my previous post is the love that God has for us and has proven to us by his willingness to sacrifice his Son, and the love that Jesus has for us and has proven by willingly being that sacrifice.  It is a love beyond human comprehension. Unconditional. Pure. A love in which His concern is always for OUR good.  Why do we (both genders) waste time looking for someone else to meet such a great need in us? Clearly, too much to ask of another mere mortal. Having this spiritual hunger satisfied by One who is completely trustworthy, and will remain so through the ages allows us to love a bit more freely...to loosen the grip. And speaking of loosening the grip, though HE is capable of complete control his sacrifice of it and allowing us to reject him if we want (free will) is perhaps the very first example of "sacrificial love." Perhaps all of His attributes are examples of what love without insecurity looks like. Part of our insecurity comes from imagining that if another person knew us...REALLY knew us, they would find us unlovable. We are loved by a Creator who knows our every thought, flaw, weakness...our darkest secrets and who, knowing all of that thinks that we are worth pursuing, delighting in, and fighting for.

My daughter and I stood shivering on the deck of our cruise ship during the lifeboat drill.  While they were announcing what the procedure would be for manning and filling the lifeboats in the event of an emergency, they said the priority would be "women and children first." I choked up. Why? I don't really know except in that moment, the reality of men in the past having behaved so valiantly struck home. It caused something deep in me to catch like a rusty gear suddenly jerked forward to understanding. We may not be able to fully and continuously love perfectly and sacrificially, but even in our flawed and selfish state we do have our moments, don't we?