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As we prepare for our yearly celebration of Passover and Resurrection Day, let us consider how to love.
Recently, in a conversation with some other women, there was a difference of opinion. I said we needed to learn how to love. Indeed, that had been an agreement in the group. We were studying the Bible, presumably to learn how to be …. better, right? Another said, oh, no, she knew how to love. She had been talking over me. She was very much squirming in her chair. She had come ready to fight me. Because I was ready to pray for her to be healed… which she had asked for. Others opinions range in between, confused — or silent.
Let me ask you, do we really know how to love? Do we always love our family, even? Are all our children taken care of? What about our cousins? What about the kids down the block? Are our duties always fulfilled? At work? At church? In civic affairs? Do we love wisely… or are we sometimes enablers? Do we agree with sin that hurts our friends and call it love? Or can we speak the truth in love? If we don’t speak the truth, is that love? If we love only our family, or are generous with our family or only those who can pay us back — is that love? Or is that self-love? If we “give back” is that sacrificial love like Jesus? Or only self-promotion? In our supposed philanthrophy, so we really help?
Jesus is our example of self giving love. Did he always make people happy? Obviously not! Lots of religious people and rulers had “Jesus Derangement Syndrome.” Okay, so some of you now are jumping up and down. Yes, he ate with sinners. Did he tell them it was just fine to keep on sinning? No, surely not. Did people know and see how much he loved them? Did everyone get healed? All who asked, but lots of folks in Nazareth didn’t get healed because… of unbelief. I guess they didn’t ask. But some did, and they got healed. Do people today know and see how much he is trying to give them? No.
We have a lot to learn about love. We have some to learn about how to receive the large load of love that God would give. We surely have a lot to learn about how to love more perfectly. To be perfect is to be loving… See Matthew 5:48.
During this time of preparation, let’s do some soul searching. Let’s even talk with our children about how to be more loving. How does that look in the family? in the workplace? At church? In civic life? Then see if there are some activities you might do with your children. Then reflect with them. For instance, is that political rally you are going to … motivated by love? Try it out. Then reflect efterwards. IS that church group singing at the old folks home motivated by love? How could we make it more so? How about their relationships with their friends. Have they offered love? Are they loving wisely? Because it wouldn’t be good for your child, on pretense of love, to go and do something bad with their friend, right? That wouldn’t be love. Truth and love go together.
