The Reality about Love (based on I Corinthians 13) Lovea word so misused that oft times it loses its

essence. It is a word that evokes deep passion and sincerity not just in the concept between a man and a woman, but as well as to man and the people around him. Even in the Bible, love was discussed in detail by the great Apostle Paul, who wrote I Corinthians 13 otherwise known as the Love Chapter of the Bible. The first three verses of the chapter evokes the reality of having to need only love, followed by the fourth to the seventh verses which entails how love can change everything and lastly the eighth to thirteenth verses which tells how love is absolutely the greatest thing. In the first three verses of the chapter, it depicts men, particularly those in Corinth who were given the ability to speak in tongues, that is, to speak in other languages to spread the gospel throughout the world. It was clearly stated that when a man speaks without love he sounds like a clanging cymbalan annoying and meaningless noise. The same can be said about using the phrase I love you commonly said by teenagers nowadays, to the person whom they love. Yet looking on what they really feel, it is more to be of lust rather than love which makes the powerful phrase go empty and be plain words. Indeed, the song which says A word is just a word till you mean what you say is true. Having known that without love, every word or action a person does is meaningless, it is up to as integrate the real meaning of love in everything we do. As said previously, a thing without love is meaningless, then, it is also right to say that the only thing that can change the mentality of doing things without purpose is love. In the following verses, love was described as humble and does not parade itself, as rejoicing in the truth rather than that of iniquity and that love bears, believes and hopes all things. Hearing this, one can then conclude that love has the ability and can really change the lives of people. Reading about people who were changed simply because an act of love was shown to them reveals how this one thing could suddenly turn the upside-down world of many people into the world that they dreamed it would be. Lastly, love is said to be the greatest thing of all, in Chapter 13 of I Corinthians, the gifts that people had were merely temporal and would eventually be gone, but what abounds beyond it is simply love. Putting it in the context of our daily living, we can compare the gifts to the material possessions we have which may give us satisfaction or happiness for a while, but what really gives us the real joy is to know that someone loves us, thinks about us, and cares for us. Comparing love to the values of faith and hope, it is clearly stated that among these three, Love is the greatest. It is so because when one loves a person he puts his faith and hope on that person the same as we love God and put our faith and hope in Him. Indeed, what a wonderful thing love is!

Speak To us Love (Based on Kahlil Gibrans The Prophet) Many people have wondered and sought the true meaning of love in every possible corner of the world. Yet somehow when they find love demanding them things in order to find its true meaning, they back off and scamper away. The same illustration can be seen in Kahlil Gibrans The Prophetespecially on the part where Almitra asks Love to speak to them. And as Love spoke to them, they hear what is absolutely dangerous, ridiculous and opposite of what they thought love would be. Speaking in behalf of our generation, it is a truth that each of us has his own version of the thing we call Love, but somehow, the image of love being perfect and always good is what always gets in our head. Understanding that love is also an intangible thing, we have to know that it does not always have to be the image of perfection weve always dreamed of. In The Prophet, love beckons the people to follow him in the ways that are hard and steep and tells them that love also demands and does things which may hurt you. Analysing this portion of the book, we find that love brings us to unimaginable situations which may hurt and break us, but we find the relief that if we are able to survive such, we come out as polished and stronger individuals in the context of the emotional aspect of love. Going further the selection, Kahlil Gibran also tackles the idea of those who would only want to see the beautiful side of love and enjoy its pleasure all the times. In his description, those who would only want to see the good side of love would then tend to laugh, but not all the real laughter and would cry but not all tears will be wept. The same is true about people who content themselves with the mentality that love would always be good and would not bring them to downfall; but when time comes that love pulls them down, they break away and blame love for such. It must be instilled in each of our mind that accompanying love is the reality that we may get hurt along the way. Amidst the hurt and sufferings that love will bring you into, Gibran also discusses in the latter portion of the selection how one would rejoice in the course of love. If one would find himself hurt and wounded upon pursuing his desires, he would bleed happily and will not regret any of it. The same is applied in situations where the only thing that will make you truly happy is to admit your feelings toward a person with the mentality that you accept whatever his answer may bebe it a sweet yes or a bitter no. In so doing, you find yourself rejoicing even if there is a sense of rejection because somehow you have freed your desires and will sleep peacefully when the night comes. In the last sentence, To sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips, it is a reality that having to love someone brings your heart genuine joy.

Implications of Reproductive Health Bill, Same Sex Marriage, Polygamy and Monogamy to Human Sexuality To Reproductive Health Bill The Philippine Reproductive Health Bill has been a wild topic in the Philippine Senate recently. Knowing that it constitutes to several legislative orders that would protect Filipino man and woman in their reproductive years, many people have come to misunderstand this bill. Most people would say that the bill is set to allow abortion and artificial contraception in the country as it was what we were made to believe knowing that the Philippines is a country wherein the Church has a say on the State. But looking deeper on the bill, we see that it only seeks to improve human sexuality by providing protection to people on their reproductive years. Although it is an innate instinct of man to be sexually dynamic, it is also up to him to take control and manage his own sexuality as it may bring him to his downfall if he is not careful enough. Personally, I see RH Bill as a means to provide a safe haven for human sexuality, a net that serves as a catching device for anyone who might fall out of human sexuality. Also it serves as a warning tool that makes us realize that one must take control of sexuality if one doesnt want to get himself involve in the tangled scheme of human errors brought about by uncontrolled sexual desires. To Same Sex Marriage Biblically speaking, same sex marriage is immoral, wrong and a direct thwart to Gods command. It can be remembered that God send sulphur and brimstone to burn down the cities of Sodom and Gomorra as same sex relationships abounded in these places. In the context of human sexuality, same sex marriage is a direct violation to what the normal human sexuality should be, that is, a man is to be attracted only to a woman and vice versa. This simply implies how man has become so evil that he continually does what is right in his own eyes even if it already sets God ablaze. God destined man to be the marital partner of a woman and intervening in the divine plan would mean also intervening with the great Creator, which is more likely inviting God to punish you. Also, what same sex marriages nature is truly deviant and absurd in what we Filipinos came to believe and grew accustomed to. Personally, I condemn same sex marriage as it is a direct violation of Gods laws and it is morally incorrect and filthy.

To Polygamy and Monogamy Polygamy, otherwise known as having multiple wives or husbands is a common practice among our Moslem brethren. It is allowed for Moslem men to take in and marry as many women as they like for as long as they are able to support the children with which he bore each wife. Speaking in the context of human sexuality, we see that it is an example of man not being contented with one partner only. Instead he tends to find what he calls love to another person until he is able to find it. This is more likely illustrated when a man goes in a convenience store and buys goods which would satisfy him, once he finds something, he buys it only to realize that having one is not enough which would then lead him to look for another one. Personally, I see it as morally wrong because the love that a husband has for his wives would then become unequal and would lead to unjust and biased relationships. On the other hand, monogamy is the type of relationship which I find morally right as it is said that what God has put together, no one can put asunder. This is true concerning that marriage does not occur in an instant but is a gradual process in human sexuality where one seeks to find out his partner for life. Knowing that the woman a man has brought to the altar is the woman who he really loves and will spend the rest of his life with is simply rejoicing. Also, monogamy accounts to my greatest favour as it is in this type of relationship where bound remains constant only divided between the couple and their children, unlike that of polygamy which will be divided among the wives and the children of each wife. I might have been too blatant, but it is somehow the truth I grew accustomed to, and I believe its my right to say so.