Religion

Love Makes Sense

This is a test. This is only a test. For the duration of one sentence I will attempt to write something legible while placing my fingers on random keys. Pty8w 8s 9ho6 q 53w5l, j fdldzg gbjx jx kn,h z fdxg. I repeat, this is only a test.

Now, if you can, please interpret the fourth sentence of the previous paragraph. Can’t do it? Of course not. My fingers weren’t on the home keys. I placed them wherever I wanted, and just typed.

When it comes to typing on a keyboard, you have to follow some guidelines if you want the outcome to make sense. It’s the same in love. Love was never meant to be confusing. In reality, it’s as simple as, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

As a teacher, I spend a lot of time developing my young students’ reading skills. The goal is for the children to learn certain words, but with the limited options given for a particular skill set, some stories in their little readers don’t make sense. One time, after reading one of those nonsensical stories, a five-year old student asked, “What was that supposed to mean?”

We can try to make our own guidelines for love, just as I placed my hands on the keyboard wherever I wanted. But the outcome will make about as much sense as the random words strewn together in a children’s reader or the completely illegible sentence in the first paragraph here. Only when my hands are placed on the home keys do the words come out in a logical way.

Jesus is our “home base” when it comes to love. He is the one who created the golden rule of do unto others, and he is the one who lived out the golden rule by living a life of perfect love and dying a death of sacrificial love. When I feel confused about life and love, I just have to look at the ultimate definition of love. And that makes sense.

Source: Love Makes Sense

A Worthy Endeavor

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Love is the only worthy endeavor.

The Power of Love

Imagine a culture that has been ravaged by a deadly, contagious disease. There is no hope for immediate survival or for the sustenance of future generations because the blood of the people has been irrevocably contaminated. There is one doctor who has the cure: his only son has not contracted the disease—and if he willingly sacrifices his blood for the dying, the entire race can be saved.

Such is the story of a humanity struck with the disease of hatred. Hatred consumes and contaminates, pervading the blood stream without mercy. All effort to purge the disease from the system is futile—it is destined to consume if not confronted. We have seen the devastating effects of hatred throughout the course of history, but there is a cure.

The Bible declares the truth of what love was meant to be: “Love 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” (I Corinthians 13:4-8).

None can read such a prescription for love and find themselves without fault at some point, if not all. An honest, careful and thorough examination of the heart and mind from the beginning of life to the present will find traces of contamination within the bloodstream: “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The glory of God is unconditional, supernatural love. To fall short of this glorious love is sin—and all have sinned in this way.

The sickness of mankind is one of hate, and only love can overcome hate. But a person must first recognize he is sick before he acknowledges his need for a cure. This is where the Doctor comes in. God the Father sent His one and only Son to demonstrate the ultimate love, and to shed His own blood that ours might be purified of hatred. When Jesus died on the cross, He offered His blood to purify a hateful world. When He rose from the dead, He offered the gift of the Holy Spirit to enable His people to live the otherwise impossible life of love.

God has given men the opportunity to accept or to reject His cure. To accept is to receive the cleansing flow of His blood: a spiritual blood transfusion. His blood carries the DNA of love, and whoever receives His blood receives His DNA. Anyone not living in love is not living in God, and those who live in love live in God. Love overflows from gratitude for His miraculous cure. And love is the only cure for this world.

“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)

Source: The Power of Love

A New Season

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Today is the day of salvation, this moment is the moment for renewal and change. We don’t have to wait another second, another minute…another year. This is the time for new beginnings—a new season, a new day.

 

Photo Credit: A brilliant sunrise over a very cold, snow covered Crystal… | Flickr

To Snow or not to Snow

Blog_ChristmasLanternA forecast of sixty degrees and sunny does not make for a happy Midwesterner come Christmastime. We grow up expecting snow as some sort of holiday birthright, our desire for it so great we’ve made it the theme of several songs—though we must admit it’s somewhat contradictory to string Let it Snow, White Christmas, and I’ll be Home for Christmas in the same playlist. Do we really want another Snowmageddon if we’re trying to hit the roads or catch a flight home? That white Christmas we’re dreaming of might mean we won’t be home for Christmas after all. Although this year, it looks like we’re getting more than what we asked for.

The first Christmas happened so long ago, we can’t say with any certainty whether there was snow or not. Snow is rare, though not impossible, in the region where Jesus was born. And some historians suggest his actual birthday was not a winter event.

Whether or not he was born in winter, I find it to be a fitting season for the symbolism of the holiday. The ground covered in a blanket of white is reminiscent of God’s promise, “though your sins are like scarlet, they will be white as snow.” That’s why Jesus came. And a hero who would live to die for the salvation of the world deserves to be celebrated. I call December 25 Jesus’ birthday observed.

As much as I love the atmosphere of snow during this season, I’ve learned it’s not any more necessary than gifts or decorations. A snowless Christmas can’t take away the symbolism. It can’t erase the story of a baby born to die for our sins. So let it snow, or let it…not snow. I will be grateful for the hope that can thaw the coldest of hearts…a hope that will never melt away.

The Missing Ingredient

Blog_RecipeI was looking forward to preparing a delicious meal for my family until I opened the spice drawer and realized one of the main ingredients was missing. Without it, I couldn’t make what I’d planned.

It’s amazing that just one small ingredient can make or break an entire meal. When it comes to the recipe of faith, there is one ingredient that often gets overlooked: patience. During seasons when our faith is put to the test, this is the one thing that will carry us through.

The Bible is filled with stories about men and women known for their great faith: great—due not to their own merit, but due to the greatness of the God in whom they placed their faith. Such people had an intimate knowledge of God that enabled them to walk with confidence in His promises. They were so sure of His faithfulness that they were willing to wait a lifetime and beyond to see the fulfillment of His Words. Their faith was accompanied by patience.

We will develop the same patience to persevere in faith when we look to “the author and finisher of our faith.” When we look to Him, we are reminded that it is not so much our faith that keeps us, as it is His faithfulness. An understanding of His faithfulness will fuel our willingness to wait for the fulfillment of His promises.

Abraham was promised that he would father many nations, yet he did not see the birth of his son until he was old in years. Joseph was given dreams of how God would do great things through him—but before his dreams became a reality, he endured rejection, enslavement, false accusations, and imprisonment. Moses asked to see God’s glory, yet his prayer was not answered until years after his death when he visited Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. David was anointed as King, but he had to live under the ungodly rule of Saul before he could wear the crown. The disciples heard from Jesus’ own mouth words of the coming kingdom, but they endured severe persecution and even death without seeing the fullness of the kingdom come.

In these dark days, we’re not only going to need faith to stand firm until the end. We’re going to need the key ingredient of patience. And patience will only come through an intimate knowledge of God. When we know Him intimately, we will be sure of His faithfulness. And He who is faithful is able to keep us.

“…imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” (Hebrews 6:12)

 

Photo Credit: chilli-con-carne-recipe | deepdarksquid | Flickr

Thanksgiving, Hold the Whine

Blog_NoWhiningA bad experience accidentally sampling wine as a six-year old permanently scarred my taste buds against any desire for it. The only association I now have with the drink is…yuck. But there’s something I like less: the kind of wine spelled with an “h”.

As much as I despise whining, I find myself doing an awful lot of it. Didn’t I just do the dishes? How did the laundry basket fill up so fast? Why does the alarm have to go off so early every day? Does the cat really have to cough up a hairball every morning? Do I have to whine about everything? (Yes, I even annoy my own self with my whining.)

The controversy over coffee cups devoid of holiday images stirred my awareness of just how ridiculous whining can be. Really? Complaining about a cup? Why can’t we just be grateful we have sufficient income to purchase overpriced lattes when more than half the world hopes for one good meal a day? Why can’t we focus our energies on something more productive, like helping the poor or fighting the gross injustices of our generation?

A perceptive children’s author wrote a poem about WHYning and Complaining. Most of our whining is just that. WHYning. Wondering WHY the world can’t be more conducive to our own comfort, security, needs, and desires. Otherwise known as…discontent.

I’ve decided once and for all to stop all my WHYning. After all, the sink is full of dishes because I have an amazing family who just ate a great meal together. An overflowing laundry bin means we have enough clothes to keep us warm each day of the week. That aggravating alarm goes off so early because I have a job I love, and income as a result. And the cat? Well, the kids love her.

My prayer is that I’ll live a life of gratitude—for the big things and the little things. For the annoying things. And even for the painful ones.

As my favorite holiday approaches, I want to serve up a platter of thanksgiving. Hold the whine.