What is love?

1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. 4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (1 corinthians 13:4-7)

I was challenged recently by the "what is it-ness" of love. :) If you are wondering why I "love" to talk about "love," I hope this may help you. Because, this is is my understanding of love. The world may say love is "spending time with people, giving people stuff, doing things for people, writing them e-mails all the time and sending flowers, marrying someone, etc." I don't care. I want to be this. I want to be known to be like this. I want to imitate this. I want to do what it causes me to do. I'm obsessed because this kind of love has found me, and rescued me from a dull, boring life. How can I not be obsessed? I was blind, but now I see. And dog-gone everything else. I want you, my brothers and sisters to be this too.

God really really really loves you

Do you love God? I hope you do, because you are invited to. Because God really really really loves you. Don't be afraid to enter into an intimate love relationship with Him. Just think, that's the one thing that your enemy is dedicated to keep from happening. Is it working? He knows what he's doing. So are you willing to struggle openly (instead of privately/secretly) along side of your brothers and sisters to do all that you can together to stand up against the Devil's purposes? Remember, our struggle isn't against flesh and blood. If it were, we'd be good at loving God, and our efficiency would actually help our cause. But, no, our struggle is against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Efficiency doesn't cut it. Neat orderly sermons don't cut it either. A spiritual, intimate love relationship with our Abba Father which takes place as we abide in Him and He abides in us, and pours out His love into our hearts and we do His will and take our stand against evil will cut it. And it does cut it. It cuts deep into our hearts and we thrive. What if our struggle really was against cosmic powers over this present darkness and spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places? No, it couldn't be, because our theologies don't have room for this to be true. As some friends I know would say it, "Shame." Need I say it again? I mean, I for one thrive on this.....God really really really loves you.

Love

Without love, the outward work is of no value; but whatever is done out of love, be it ever so little, is wholly fruitful. For God regards the greatness of love that prompts a man, rather than the greatness of achievement.
Thomas à Kempis

There's great fear and great hope in this statement. Can it be true that without love, my work is of no value? What if it were true? And what if love really did flow out of an intimate love relationship with God from the heart? This would explain why we don't love, and fail to find love. We don't know how to love because love does not penetrate the masks we wear. And very few people are brave enough to expose their true selves long enough to experience Love. And this is why bad things have happened to our understanding of love.

Why do people strip the emotion and feeling from love? Because both our understanding and experience of love is broken, and we broke it. And the pieces that remind us of this make us very very uncomfortable and we are really good at hiding the evidence (but like the boy who stole the cookie, though we may hide the crumbs, we forget that the chocolate is smeared all over our face). Love flows from the heart, and is the product of intimacy with God, who is Love. Intimacy is impossible outside of the heart. Unfortunately for us, we are incapable of love because we've sold our hearts to the Devil, traded them in for duty and efficiency in living "Christian" lives. What am I talking about? We've been convinced for years that our hearts are desperately wicked. And who can know...it's not true...anymore? And we wonder why we love so little? (man that's a deep consideration)

So connect the dots. If the heart is broken, hurting, wicked, and neglected, and this is the only place intimacy can occur, how can we expect to love God with our whole heart? And worse, love each other? Why has my Christian faith been boiled down to a mere information transfer of lists of what I should believe and do? And why have I least been taught how to be a lover of God from the deep heart Jesus gave me and showed the way of intimacy?

There's a dangerous enemy, that's why. He knows that love is point of Christianity. He knows that it really is all about love. He knows how to keep us from believing that. And worse, He wants to steal the heart from all of us. Please guard your heart. If you've lost it, get it back. It's time that we learned how to be intimate with God with our hearts. Step one, remove your mask. (God sees through it anyhow, and He loves what He sees)

David

David is only 7 months old, and already the enemy is on the attack on the character of His God. He suffers from a artery running in the wrong direction in his throat and pushing up against his esophogus, causing some problems. Pray for my nephew, pray for his healing, and pray for his mommy and daddy as they do everything the can to help him. Doctors are hopeful, but as Christians, we have hope they do no understand. I love this kid.

All of That to Say This

How much of what I did yesterday was out of love for God, my Father? Is that not the Great Commandment? To love the Lord our God with all our body parts? Maybe this is why love is so difficult, and why Christians are so bad at it. If we love, it's obvious that God lives in us and God's love is made complete in us. Love is the whole point. It's the title of the story. There is more than meets the eye. How should I love?

The Mosaic Generation, Buddha, and My Thoughts on Writing

I just sat here figuring out how to talk about Monday without using passive voice until I realized what I was doing. People who dedicate their lives to setting rules for grammar need Jesus, or someone who brings meaning to unsatisfied lives. Maybe Buddha? Books being written today trump books written yesterday, and they all add sentences that fail to pass the MLA ADD APA or whatever-you-call-it standard. Like this one. (Is it a sentence? No, but really, it is. It communicates thought). Why? Because writing is communication, and communication is a substantial part of doing relationships. My fellow Mosaics aren't satisfied with the way Boomers and friends taught us to relate...and frankly, books can improve. For instance, there are some who write because they have to prove they can use words that no normal person can pronounce, not to mention understand. They do the opposite of relate (except for some reason, those who read them, relate good only to one another). Anyway, I enjoy talking above reading. I understand people so much better this way, and not much unlike this generation of mine. So, today's books are blurring the lines of print and voice. Bloggers and their blogs are leading the way. Blogs are becoming step one in the publishing process, and are causing problems for some companies who depended on their monopolies and nobility to rule the roost. I like that. :) Interestingly enough, people either become frankly real, or completely fake. However, people are more willing to share their deepest darkest secrets over the web than they are willing to share it with a friend. Check out POST SECRET for an alarmingly relevant and accurate dose of reality. Why? My guess is that people are hungry for something they do not have and cannot find. Something they know deep down inside they were made for. Do you want to know what it is? (the worm-hole is deep, just so you know, and I think I'm going to watch Matrix again to find out again) But all of that to say that I took Monday by the horns and lived it up. I looked at interior design books with my mom in Borders. I talked with Jesus in the car. I worked on electrical outlets in the basement we are converting into house. I watched Gridiron Gang at my friend's house. Monday and I were friends when I fell asleep. I sincerely wish I could say the same about Tuesday.

Holy Irony

Jesus was man-centered. Jesus was a man, and He chose to live like one so that today I, though a man, may live like God.

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. (Peter)

The Great Tragedy

There once was a man who was caught in sin. He was immediately taken to a meeting of Christians. Exposed before them all, he said nothing as each one of these Christians whipped him, jabbed him in the back, and spit on him. They condemned him, and left him in a gutter to soak up his tears. Somehow he managed to drag his wounded body back home. At least there his family tended to his wounds, washed him of his filth, and nursed him back to health. But he wasn't the same anymore. The more time that passed, the more hollow this man seemed. He was a kind man, and a hard worker. He had dreams like everyone else, but above all, it beame obvious that this man was seeking one thing. A safe place, where arms of compassion would welcome him home, where sweet mercy falls like rain, and where a band of brothers would fight for him and never leave him behind. He sought a place called grace.

And then this man received a chance to try again. He took it, but reluctantly, because all he wanted was that place. But his reluctance turned to hope when he heard rumors that this was that place. He tasted excitement when more and more people talked about something that sounded so strongly like this place. There he walked into another meeting of Christians with the memory of his stoning still weighing heavy on his heart. And much to his surprise, they listened to the account of his horrifying experience of being caught in sin and they accepted him. He was convinced that it would only be a matter of time before these men extended their arms of compassion to welcome him home, show him sweet mercy, and fight along side of him never to leave him behind.

While the men acted like they belonged to this place, this never happened. He excused their distance, and went on with life as he always knew it to be: hard, painful, and lonely. As the weeks passed, tears constantly filled the man's eyes. Reminders of this place called grace tormented his weak heart. He longed to meet Jesus, but he was trapped with strong men who maintained their distance. It was true, they had good excuses why the man wasn't welcomed into their safe place. One claimed it would be too awkward for himself if the man were included. Another feared that the leader would probably hurt the man instead of help him. Some were uncomfortable with sins being confessed. Others of them believed their culture couldn't handle it. Their women seemed perfect, and could not tolerate a man's weakness. This made these men afraid of letting a sinner into their safe place because their wives would never understand. And that's just it--they were afraid. They never tried. They went on with their lives as usual, and soon forgot all about him.

But months later, when they finally remembered the man, it was too late. The enemy attacked. He found the man in total isolation and ambushed him with accusation until he fell apart. The man fought back, but he was too weak, and he fell. His family agonized over this tragedy, but none of the people knew how to help them. They never learned how in Sunday School. They never were taught by their Teacher. So they did what they've always done: put on a smile, and pretend like everything's okay. And it worked. And don't worry, it really is okay. The man got to meet Jesus. And Jesus wrapped him in His arms of compassion, washed him with tears of joy, and welcomed him home. And there, in the arms of Jesus, he found the sweet mercy that fell like rain. There, he met his Band of Brothers who would never leave him behind. And the man was fully alive for the first time in his life. (and it was he to whom eternal life was given)

*I wrote this parable or story a year ago to express a deep longing in my heart for the church to put down the stones and unveil the A's we all wear deep inside. That longing was re-awakened tonight, and so I post it, yet again. My prayer is that someone will read this and consider what the Spirit wants us to become for the sake of one another in this battle of life. Or, will we continue to hide, and pretend, while the world around us is destroyed.

"God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." James 4:6
"If anyone says, 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen." 1 John 4:20
see John 8:1-11