real love

So I just watched a documentary entitled "Grizzly Man." It's the story of a man by the name of Timothy Treadwell, who for thirteen years lived in the wilderness of Alaska studying Grizzly Bears. I know this sounds odd, strange, and anything you could see on the discovery channel, but there was something different and unusual about the way Tim approached his craft. His true, number one goal was to become a bear, yes I said it, become a bear. He truly was an oddity, but so on the edge and some would say unsafe that he would blatantly disregard rules set by park services to protect people who went to watch bears in this particular part of Alaska. He would regularly get within an arm's length of the bears which was well within the one hundred yard mark set by the law. In Tim's case he wasn't studying an animal, but he was building relationships actually becoming family with these ferocious beasts that he spent his time with. Tim eventually succumbed to an aggressive bear that by nature reacted to someone outside of his habitat and devoured Tim and his guest in 2002. The one thing that Tim says repeatedly in the film is that he would never give up what he did with these bears. His attachment to them had extended far beyond a casual man and animal relationship. His work and relationships with these animals had allowed him to deal with his own demons and in a way was therapy for Tim. Tim firmly believed that he was protecting these bears by being in their presence. Protecting them from poachers and outside threats. He was constantly aware of the dangers and realized that he could die at any time, but continued in his work. He loved them so much that when he was confronted with the end of his life he did not scream or wail, but he merely moaned in recognition of the pain as he was eaten alive by the very thing he loved so much, more than his own life.
This may truly sound ridiculous. To love something that could kill you at any moment. Not only to love, but to love without any concern of your well being. Isn't that the true meaning of love. Isn't that where life is truly found, loving another without any concern of yourself. Some would argue that this was the very love that killed Jesus and many others in modern day who have died for their beliefs or loved ones. The same love that fueled Jesus' ministry and lead him to say "forgive them for they know not what they do," as he died on a cross at the hands of the very people he loved. Love has such a way of changing us so profoundly that we look beyond selfish, petty desires to the conservation of the very thing that we love. I'm covered in the blood of a Saviour that loved me so much he gave his life for me without any thought of himself. When we are confronted with the existence of this type of love in our modern society we write it off as lunacy, but for me I praise Jesus that he continues to find new, creative and relevant ways to remind of this all encompassing and gripping love that still perpetuates itself in the world today.