And so it goes...
Love- a word with so many connotations, meanings and profound depth. A word that God has been teaching me about in a new way during this odd season of my life. A word that God has been using to challenge and refine me.
It's been hitting me from several angles since Christmas. For now I will largely focus on the fruit of the spirit aspect (Paul's focus). In practicality, what does love the outpouring of love look like? Love is a verb and it is meaningless unless it does something. God is love and this love not only died for us, but with us. Our sin, our flesh was crucified with Christ. We are crucified daily. Love is born out of crucifixion and receiving God, receiving love daily, hourly. God has been showing me how deep, how vast his love is. I've been letting that sink in, letting that become part of the fibers of my soul. You cannot give love that you do not have and God is love, the mother source.
Another part of this season has included watching people that are very dear to me hurt, self inflict and flounder. I've had to watch, unable to fix it, not knowing how to help, surrendering that it's not my job or within my power to make it better.
I have been tempted to distance myself, to pull away and not walk the messy walk of love, but instead I have been crying out for wisdom and love. Something along the lines of, "Oh God, show me what it means to see your love break every yoke. Show me how to love _____ back to wholeness without judgement or criticism."
Love
Is patient Is kind
Hopes all things
Believes all things
Suffers
Never fails
Is not selfish
Bears all things
Keeps no record of wrong
Endures
Each word is hard to swallow when you really think about it as more than a platitude.
Love doesn't retreat. It doesn't back away when things get tough. It doesn't hide in it's selfishly spun cocoon of protection. It doesn't lose sight of God's plan to restore and heal. "A friend loves at all times and a brother is born for adversity." Proverbs 17:17
Sometimes it aches with others. Sometimes it aches because of others. " Love bears all things..."
1 Corinth 13:7
Sometimes it says nothing and intercedes before the throne of God: "Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter." Proverbs 24:11
Sometimes it wounds. " Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of the enemy." Proverbs 27:6
It's always our charge. " Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God." 1 John 4:7
"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." John 15:12
It's easy to react instead of act- to pull away knowing that human nature is to take advantage of unconditional love and deposit the unconditional lover on shelf B or discard, because people know it will always be there for them to come back to. It's easy to give up. It's easy to become discouraged. It's easy to choose the path of least resistance and not suffer with Christ as we crucify our sin nature situation by situation. All this for a friend or family member? That's great. Now, what about a stranger? A colleague? New level, right?
I spent my morning picking up trash. It was the culmination of a sermon series about love at a church that I was visiting. Without telling the church in advance, everyone was apportioned into groups that set out to serve and I was assigned trash. It was not glamorous. I wish I could say that my group came in contact with people that we were able to pray for or share about Christ with, but it didn't happen. There were no exciting feelings after spending an hour picking up cigarette butts, no great stories to tell. Does it matter if anyone notices what we were doing and connects the dots? Love is hard. Love is messy. Love often goes unnoticed, but it's beautiful and... not optional.
May my love be with all of you in Christ Jesus. Amen.
1 Corinthians 16:24
