I'm applying for chaplaincy school and have to write a dozen papers as part of the application. Chaplains can work in a variety of settings: military, hospitals, hospice, jails and prisons, emergency departments, large organizations, etc. The shortest paper for the application is to describe love in one paragraph. Could you do it? Below is my attempt:
I believe love means we have God’s heart to see as He sees and
to love as He loves. God uses our hearts and hands to reach out to others but
it is difficult to love as perfectly as God does and to see others as God sees
them. In 1 Samuel 16:7, it reads “For the Lord does not see as man seeth, for man
looketh at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” In order to
love as God does, we need our heart expanded. So we must fervently pray and ask
for this gift of charity or perfect love of Christ (Moroni 7:47-48.) In Paul’s
writings (1 Corinthians 13:4-8), he gives some examples of what charity is (suffers
long, is kind, rejoices in the truth, bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things, and never fails) and what it is not
(doesn’t envy, doesn’t vaunt itself, is not puffed up, doesn’t behave unseemly,
is not selfish, is not easily provoked, doesn’t think evil, doesn’t rejoice in
iniquity.) But these do’s and don’ts do not capture the full essence and
magnitude of this great love of God. Other LDS scriptures (Mosiah 18:8-9) describe
this true love of Christ in terms of willingness to bear the burdens of others,
mourn with others and comfort others. All of these scriptures combined (not to
mention the commandment to love others as God does) comprise my feelings on
love. I want to see others as God sees them and be His loving embrace, His shoulder
to cry on, His hands to hold, and His feet to run to others in times of
distress. Use me, Lord. The truest longing of my heart is to be thy servant of
love.
