The Journey, Part 3

Love.

You're probably thinking, why is this girl so obsessed with love? It's like all she ever writes about.
Well, it's true. I am obsessed with love. Because "love covers a multitude of sin," and is something that can never run out.

Besides, I fiercely love God. I can't help it, He started it.

Bear with me, this is kinda long :)

Almost every song is written about love. (Although Sara Bareilles says she's NOT gunna write you a love song. Take that.) It is something people fall in and out of every day, and most people would agree that there is one person in their lives that they consistently love, all the time. (at least I hope this for you, if not...que triste.) People kill for love, give life for live, and become depressed over love. Geez, there's even a whole holiday dedicated to it. I'm not sure the same could be said for really anything else in the world. But why is it such a big deal?

Well, it would be easy to say John 3:16. "For God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son." Most people in the world, even those who do not attend church, could probably quote or are familiar with this verse. Don't get me wrong, the importance of this verse should never be forgotten. Without it, there wouldn't even be a world to save. I just feel like it has lost some of its meaning because of use. It's like wearing a favorite pair of shoes that are really special. After 138 wears, they are still special, and still a favorite, but they have grown dingy from use, and overuse.

And then there are verses about loving your neighbor as yourself, loving your enemies... so on, so forth (Matthew 22:39, Matthew 5:44, Luke 6:27). And that's great too, but sometimes not very personal. It almost just feels like another rule sometimes, ya know?
**Let me just take a second to point out that I mean no disrespect to God's word or the meanings they portray, I'm just trying to figure out the hermeneutics of it to my life.**
So what then? Loving people that love me is easy. Loving my enemies, well, I'm working on that. And loving God for the sacrifice of His Son is a no-brainer. But what about all the other moments? When people don't love me, but I love them. When I don't want to love my enemies, or lose sight of the ultimate sacrifice God gave for me?

Today in my missions class we watched a movie called, ironically, "The Mission." Basically, this man, attempting to convert the tribal people of the land into Jesuits, sat on a rock and played his Oboe. He did not beat them over the head with what they should or shouldn't do, he didn't make them feel inadequate, and most importantly, he didn't invade on their space. When the tribal people saw him, quietly sitting and playing his instrument, they invited him into their lives, thereby giving him the opportunity to convert them. They could see that he wouldn't harm them, that he respected them, and they, in return, trusted him. They were taught about the mercy of God, but slowly, they began to doubt the mercy of man. All because another man, a slave trader, was capturing, killing, and selling their people. Now, these tribal people couldn't really make a distinction between the man who was teaching them and this other awful man. All they knew was a white man, looking similar to the man who was telling them all these new ideas, was killing them. Granted this slave trader didn't know what the other man was trying to do, but he single-handedly killed the small ounce of light those people were receiving (regardless of the faith they were being taught, the true could be said for any religion) simply because he had an agenda. He had to get done what He was there to do.

Welp. Welcome to my life.
So, do I love people the way Jesus loves us. The way I claim to?
Ok, that calls for a complete denial of myself. To be there for a girl who is starving her body because she thinks she is too fat, when it would be best for me to stay out of it. To love 2 individuals enough to look past their addiction to prescription drugs. To hold the hand of a young woman having a baby out of wed-lock. To embrace people struggling with same-sex attractions. To tell a friend you love her when she pray every day that her life will end. Yes, these people need redemption and to turn from their ways, but me shunning them does NOTHING but make it worse.
Do I love my enemies like I say I do? Sure, I may mention their name in the shower in the mornings, but have I let go of how much destruction they have caused to my life? The pain they alone afflicted and continue to? That would be stupid to love someone like that right? Why would I let someone like that in my life?...
Jesus died for me. But more than that, He dies for me again every day. Do I die for Him? Do I even stop to think about the immense, intense, unstoppable, uncontrollable, never-ending love He pours out for me every day? He is who He is, regardless of where I am.
Because of this, I will never (well, I will really really try not to) dismiss a person because of the actions they have made/are making. "If we all walk away, who's going to be Jesus in that person's life?"

Who am I to stay at arms length to someone who is struggling with sin? Guess what, sin is filthy and is in ALL our lives. And as humans, we have put these degrees on sin. Like if you murder, you are a serious sinner, lying is just a little one, so on. But the truth is, God can't be a part of ANY of it. Sin is sin to Him. There are no degrees. How does God treat these sinners, who could surely never be like us? I mean we should probably have nothing to do with them, or be arrogant in our own righteousness, right? -"I will expose your righteousness and your works, and they will not benefit you." Isaiah 57:12.- How does God treat these people that I so often scorn?
He treats them with Love. Yep. Pure, undefiled, never-ending Love.

I have found God today in that: He has shown me how to love.