Valley Princess

Learning to Love: Day 30

The Triangle

To God is where our love should go
And never dark or dim.
In God is where our love should grow
And rest wholly in Him.
To God is where our love should go
And never die or fade.
In God is where our love should grow
Where we rest in His shade.
Of God is where our love comes from
As reflections from the shining Son.
With God is where our love should stay
Like the hope within the rising day.
For God is where our love should be
Today and 'til eternity.

Day 30

Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love (1 Jn. 4:8).

In marriage counseling, pastors often use the triangle analogy. The husband and wife are the two bottom points of an equilateral triangle, and God is the top point. If the two bottom points can move upward, the closer they both come to the top point, and the closer they come to each other also. The closer a man and woman come to God through relationship with Him, the closer they will be in their marriage. In striving to love God all the better, they consequently love each other better.

This situation harkens to the words of Jesus, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40). Jesus is not here in His body to love materially anymore, at least in the remainder of this age, but the body of His Church is all around us (and we also are a part of that body, so we must also love ourselves). And if our spouse is a believer, then we can simultaneously grow closer to God as we grow closer to our spouse. Now it is also possible for one spouse to grow closer to God and not the other, but in a triangle diagram, such a change will not make one farther from his spouse. We are still free to love our spouse, and all the better. Through loving others, we learn His heart and mind, and conversely, we must receive His love to be able to give love. In fact, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).

The inspiration for the poem “The Triangle” actually came from Romans 11:36: “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” We receive love from Him, we must love through the power of Him in us (to love truly), and as we love others, that love returns to Him as if He were the full recipient (Matthew 25:40). Consequently, He gains the glory as the source and as the end. You are amazing, God.

If you enjoyed this material, please leave a like or comment on my blog, share, and you can purchase my book, Learning to Love: A Collection of Poetry and 40 Daily Devotions, on Amazon. Until next time, God bless.

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Sara DuVall is a wife and homeschool mom. She lives in the Tennessee Valley of North Alabama with her husband and four children. Originally from the Florida Gulf Coast, she was raised in the church and worked for the church for some time. Sara has a MA in English literature and certificate in technical communication, having work experience in the field of technical communication and technical editing. Her BA is in cultural anthropology and English writing. Sara has been writing poetry since she was about 13 years old. Inspired by a poem written by her great-grandmother, Sara has studied and enjoyed the art of poetry ever since. She is a published short story author in Northwest Florida State College’s Blackwater Review (2006 and 2007). She is also an award-winning short story author at the University of West Florida (2009). She published her first book, Learning to Love: a Collection of Poetry and 40 Daily Devotions, in 2021. The daughter of a choir director and college music teacher with an MA in voice, Sara was regularly exposed to music from an early age. Although she is a far cry from the vocal qualifications of her mother, and although she is not nearly as proficient a pianist as she should be from her tutelage, Sara has maintained her musical background by expressing herself through acoustic and classical guitar and the Native American style flute, composing many of her own songs. Besides writing and music, one of Sara’s favorite work experiences was as assistant curator of the Heritage Museum of Northwest Florida where she got to accession people’s old stuff and guide tours about it. They just don’t make things like they used to.
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