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Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Love In Action

I often find it hard to love.  I’ve been around the block a few times and I know from experience that the people that I have to interact with, or those I let even closer into my life, are by their innermost nature not going to be lovable sometimes, most of the time, or even all of the time.  They are going to do their best to put themselves first and me second (if I’m lucky) or third and on down the line to infinity.  It’s just the way it is.  Yet, am I confusing “love” with “like” here?

Reading the Bible is an exercise in love.  It’s central theme is love…but what is love?  Webster’s says a lot about it.  It is one of the longest definitions in their dictionary…ending with “scoreless in tennis” (been there, done that!)  Most of their definitions relate to feelings and actions expressed to another.  Is love just a feeling of affection or an amorous sexual episode (that is if you’re not playing tennis!)  Or is it something more, and how do we relate that to our own attitude and behavior?  The Bible defines love, too.  Paul’s letter to the Corinthians is one of the best places to find that definition.  In the Bible’s simplest definition it says “God is love.”  Even Webster’s Dictionary recognizes that. I think that is where we need to take our cue about love and how we need to express it.

So, back to my problem.  I often find it hard to love, but am I confusing “love” with “like?”   Jesus didn’t command me to “like” one another.  He commanded me to “love one another.”   I once read a statement that sums it up pretty well:  “You may like someone because of who he is, but you love someone because of who you are.”  In the same way, God’s love is unconditional and he loves us because of who He is and not who we are.  That doesn’t mean he likes how we behave or how we relate to Him.  Still, he goes on loving us just as much.  It also doesn’t mean that we don’t wind up being disciplined by life or by God for what we are like and what we do.  That is the practical take away from all of this…that our loving someone doesn’t mean we completely overlook what they do.  Consequence is a part of life and learning.  Our patient, kind, and loving correction is expected as a part of our loving others.  I agree, by our nature it is hard to do when you don’t have the “like” to go with the “love.”  Still, that is what is expected and we should strive for in our lives.

Jesus said, “love one another, even as I have loved you.”  He loved us enough to die in our place.  I don’t honestly think I could do that for someone I don’t even like.  I’m human and very flawed…but I can understand what the message is and I can try to get as close as possible to that attainment. 

Will you?

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