Be the Love

I Corinthians 13:8
Love never fails.

Matthew 22:37-39

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”

The word love is mentioned more than 500 times in the New International Version of the Bible and more than 300 times in the King James. Plus, King James uses words like charity to speak of love. As I've studied and written through the "love" verses of 1 Corinthians 13, I'm brought to the one verse that ties a lovely bow on the most beautiful package. "Love never fails."

Paul is speaking of the love God has for his people, the love we have through Jesus, the love God wants us to have for one another. Matthew writes with authority from God that we are to love God and our neighbor. The question is often asked, who's my neighbor. With social media and the internet connecting people around the world, I chance a guess to say, whoever God sends across our path is our neighbor. That person may live across the street or on the other side of the world. Wherever they are, we need to pour love over them the way Paul poses in Corinthians.

Maybe if we show more love and less hate, there will be less senseless acts of violence. Maybe if we show more love and less hate, people will feel loved and pass it on. 

Maybe if we show more love and less hate, less bullying, abuse, and evil will be prevalent in the world. Where do we begin? At home, at work, on Facebook, in the classroom, and yes even in the church. God's love never fails. But sometimes we stink at showing his love to others. Look for the people God needs you to love.

Be observant. Be intentional. Be the love.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8Love 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. 

The View from Caesar's Head

Psalm 95:4-7
He holds in his hands the depths of the earth
    and the mightiest mountains.
The sea belongs to him, for he made it.
    His hands formed the dry land, too.

Come, let us worship and bow down.
    Let us kneel before the Lord our maker,
for he is our God.
We are the people he watches over,
    the flock under his care.

Tim and I drove down to see Hannah in South Carolina. On the way we cruised through the Great Smokey Mountains. As we powered along, I watched the landscape for any signs of autumn. And bears—I always watch for bears. From the highway, we looked over the ridges and felt we were well above the tree-strewn valleys. That is until Saturday, when Hannah took us to a place called Caesar's Head. From our point of view, about 3200 feet above sea level, the scene took my breath away.  A valley, that stretched as far as I could see, housed a vast forest dotted with gold and red. A lake as smooth as glass sprawled between hills. The majestic mountains rose in the distance.

We stood on top of this rock formation called Caesar's Head

Gazing over the beauty, reminded me of two truths from Psalm 95. Number one: Everything was created by and is owned by God. As I stood on the top of Caesar's Head, I saw wonder in God's natural world. I drew in fresh air. I imagined what animals roamed those mountains. (Maybe, a bear or two.) Number two: God watches over me. He cares about me and loves me just as I am. I needed that reminder, because sometimes I forget or take for granted our incredible Lord. He has more love than we can imagine, and he wants to pour that out on us if only we seek him.

Let us come to him with thanksgiving. 

Let us sing psalms of praise to him.

                                      -Psalm 95:2

A Whisper of Hope

Psalm 62:5
Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him.

Amethyst Astilbe

Something drew me to the green plant sprouting in a flower bed where I work. The hosta leaves spread and the azaleas had finished blooming. Yet this bushy little plant tucked into the corner of the bed, caught my attention. It was as if it called me to look at it every day. Morning after morning, I'd walk by and check out the greenery. One day I noticed tiny blooms shooting out of stems. They shot up like sparklers on the fourth, but brown, like they'd already bloomed and dried up. I knew they hadn't. So like Alice in Wonderland, I got "Curiouser and curiouser!" I looked forward to seeing whether the brown stayed that way or would they transform into something more colorful. Then one day on my walk in to work, there they were. Lovely, feathery, pink (my favorite color) blooms. Like a whisper, they called me to them and said see this is what you've been waiting for.

Isn't that just how I am with God? I seek the beautiful, the colorful joy, the "happy." But when I spy a brown flower, or a bad day, a sad news story or a horrific one, I forget about the hope. My anger bubbles at the people who judge parents who are hurting instead of comforting them and at the people who kill innocent people. Instead of being curiouser and curiouser and clinging to the hope I know is God, I become discouraged.

Yet I know if I sit at God's feet and seek his wisdom, he provides hope. God is bigger than all that I face here. He's the creator of all things, yet he listens to me and whispers in my ear. He tells me he loves me and loves you. No matter what, God is the one I can count on. He doesn't change. While all the world is falling apart, Jesus is holding me up. He's sitting beside me and sharing his love. I usually end with a praise, today let's end with a prayer.

"Lord, I need to sit quietly at your feet and hear your voice. I lift up the people who are hurting this week. There's so much sadness. Please help me not to judge, but instead to love. I can't begin to thank you enough for the hope I find in you. Thank you so much for your son, Jesus. In his name I pray. Amen"

He Made Beauty From my Mess

James 1:2-4
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

On the way through town the other day, I noticed a beautiful pink dogwood blooming. As I turned onto the street where I live, vibrant purple and yellow pansies brightened the entry. Irises bloomed along the highway and phlox spilled over rock walls and across flower beds. Each plant weathered another winter. Leaves fell off, blossoms died, and the frost shriveled the plants to nothing. Yet, the green sprouted through the dirt again and produced beauty. They didn't give up.

James, Jesus' brother, speaks about what happens when we go through trials and our faith is tested. 2015 was a tough year. I suffered through some illness and diagnosis I wasn't particularly happy about. I have chronic pain and feel flat out terrible, at times. But as much as I wanted to give up at times, my faith didn't failed. Please understand, I've been discouraged. I've even been angry, but because I know beyond a doubt that Jesus is real, the Bible is true, the Holy Spirit works in me, and God loves me— I have faith that God is using my circumstances to make me a stronger more faithful follower.

As much as I dislike pain, I find joy in my circumstances and pray God uses me to help the people in my path. As a work in progress the challenges will keep coming. My prayer is to find the beauty and hang onto James 1:2-4. Praise God for creating beauty out of my mess.