I'm going to blame it on the holiday season, but lately I have been thinking a lot about love. In every movie I watch, song that pops onto the radio, and book I read there are little phrases that consume my mind for the entirety of the day as I contemplate this emotion. I feel as if love is so much more complex and precious than so many of the other emotions we feel, and is so much more powerful.
Earlier this week I was reading in the book of Daniel, and in my wandering through the pages of the Bible afterwards I happened to glance at the crucifixion story… you know… one of those I heard growing up about a million times. But, with love on the brain I saw it a bit differently.
There you have Jesus, a holy and divine being, humbled and painfully nailed to a cross, bones broken and skin shredded. In the crowd you have humanity. Now, I know you and I weren’t present at this scene, but we have as much responsibility for the death of the Messiah as the Roman soldiers who drove the nails through the bones in His hands and feet. If we were not sinful, if our nature didn’t drive us away from God and separate us from His holy being, Jesus would have never needed to come to earth and suffer in this manner. Instead, He would have remained sitting with the Father in heaven. But we are man, we sin, and we put Him on the cross.
If I were in Jesus’ position, unjustly killed by all of humanity, I would have a very difficult time finding it in my heart to love them. And, if I could somehow scrounge up enough love to treat them kindly, it would take an eternity to find. This is what I find so inspiring about the love of God: though I have trouble loving those who have hurt me and left me, He has easily loved each of us who killed Him. To me, that kind of love is almost unfathomable. Even more astounding is His ability to not only lavish His love upon us, but to gift us with eternal life, a Holy Spirit to guide us, and help through the most difficult of times, even though we have never done anything for Him.
This might sound stupid, but it reminds me of this line I recently heard in Frozen 2 that I absolutely fell in love with. After Anna left and later returned, Kristoff accepted her apology and mentioned that it was ok, “my love isn’t fragile.” God’s love survived us killing His one and only Son and our constant betrayal. It survived being beaten, mocked, painfully killed, and 3 days of death. Love is so innate and steadfast in our Savior that the Bible describes God Himself as the embodiment of love and states that those who do not love do not truly know God, because God IS love and so should we be. (1 John 4:7-12).
It holds power too! Love is what kept Jesus nailed to a tree when He could have easily descended and ended the mockery and pain. Love is what drives out fear and can transform the lives of the lost and broken. Love can bring the wayward home. It can heal, it causes people to give their lives for another, it leads to grace, compassion, and mercy. Love is incredible, especially when its foundation lies in Christ who is the ultimate source and example of pure, unconditional love.
Often in life, it is so easy to just turn away when things become difficult, or allow hatred to dwell inside instead extending mercy and forgiveness. I am just as guilty as anyone when it comes to these things, if not more. But, imagine if we acted like God in how we loved others, not just those we know personally but strangers as well. Lives would be changed forever. What better way to demonstrate who God is to others than through love?
[1 Corinthians 13: 4-8] "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. LOVE NEVER FAILS. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge it will pass away."
Imagine loving like that. Imagine replacing the word love in this verse with YOUR name. If you think there is no power in that, then I respectfully have to disagree. If people would hold this concept at the front of their minds and choose to act with love (because acting in love is a choice), how different life would be.
One of my goals of 2020 is to start working towards developing this kind of unconditional, non-fragile, endless love for others. One that reflects Christ and all He is to the world, correcting in a loving manner, forgiving, extending grace, and just spreading joy and hope. I pray you will all help keep me accountable and will join me in this, because even one person who acts in this way… well I believe they could change the world [with God's help of course].
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