Love? Is it real?

Jesus Himself said that love is the mark of His genuine followers. “By this will all people know you are my disciples – that you love another.”  You’re nodding your head in agreement, right?  Yet, think about it.
We are capable of ripping each other to shreds over when our traditions are threatened, our comfort impeded, or our beliefs challenged.
When a Christian fails or falters, observe the cruel, loveless judgments that come flooding on social media.
I have been appalled by the public musings of so many conservative Christians about various subjects that show hearts and minds that are anything but loving!

Love can be fragile, too, can’t it? Everyone knows the pain of a failed friendship. An angry word is spoken, a misunderstanding blows in like a summer thunderstorm, offense takes hold and becomes a fortress wall. A friend becomes an enemy and the wound goes deep! The love once enjoyed mysteriously turns into a bitter hatred.

Even familial love fails! Sons and mothers do not speak over some insignificant slight. Lovers who once could not stand to be apart for a moment become enemies who actively desire the destruction of each other.

So, can we really love? Is love just a mirage or momentary emotion or is it a profound choice for life, a way we learn to live to know the highest and best of the promises of Jesus?

One of the best books I have ever read on the complicated subject of human relationships is titled – Bold Love- (Dr. Dan Allender, NavPress, 1993). One of his assertions is that 'love is not natural.'

Allender writes, "There is an enormous drive in the fallen human personality that impedes the process of learning to love and an equally powerful force outside of every person that labors to destroy every effort to love. ... Complacency and presumption work hand-in-hand to blind even Christians to the importance of love and inherent battle involved in learning to love. IF we are to learn to love, we must begin with an acknowledgment that love is not natural and that love's failure is not easy to admit."

Let me rephrase that paragraph!
Sin and selfishness work inside of us and the Devil works outside of us- conspiring against love's birth and/or survival. Then, too, there is the false belief that love does not need daily care. Neglect allows it to cool until it dies, all the while we live in denial of the truth!

The only way we learn to love and remain loving is to be renewed constantly in the love of Christ! "We love each other because he loved us first." (1 John 4:19, NLT) Authentic and deep love like that of Jesus requires dying to Self. He insists that "No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other." (Matthew 6:24, NLT) We cannot love God and ourselves at the same time. We cannot love others deeply while selfishly serving our own needs, either!

Is love challenged in your life?

Before you form a fist and attempt to force a change, go to your knees! Let the Lord of Love, love you!
Before you pray, "God make them change!" give the Holy Spirit full access to your heart and mind and let Him change you! Before you walk away, expressing hatred through cool contempt, ask God to help you love others - the same way that He loves you.

Love is a force for change that is more powerful than any weapon ever devised by human beings. At the same time, genuine Christ-like love often appears to be weak on the surface as we seek to understand others, when we are gentle and allow ourselves to be vulnerable. In fact, real love leaves us open to real HURT. C.S. Lewis wrote, “To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken.”

The word from the Word- "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." … "There are three things that will endure—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:4-7,13, NLT)

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Video at https://www.youtube.com/@JerScott55

Compassion for Clancy?

Given all the attention the story has received recently you must know at least the outlines of a horrific story out of Massachusetts. A young mother, Lindsay Clancy, killed each of her children not long after the birth of her third child, then cut her own wrists and jumped out of a 2^nd story window in attempted suicide. The tragic aftermath so very dark – there are three little bodies buried, she lives as a paraplegic, her marriage ended, and an extended family lives with awful grief.

Her trial ended this week with a hung jury, 11 voting to acquit her by reason of insanity, 1 voting for conviction on murder charges.

I listened to people talk about the case this week and heard a range of responses. Some think she should receive a death penalty. A few suggest she should die an awful death like her children did. Some think she really was out of her mind and should be treated with compassion.

Ours is a culture that knows little about mercy. “Give’em what they deserve,” we insist. American jails and prisons are full to overflowing. Our political system is in a state of constant war, the ‘win’ valued more than trying to think about the issues with an understanding for the other guy. We take a perverse delight in the fall and/or destruction of the famous, the powerful. 

So, on which side do you tend to lean – for blind justice or tender mercy?

Having known grace, the mercy of God, I desire to lean into it for others. Yes, I find the results of evil often repulsive, and my reflex is to “Give that person what he deserves!”  But, often with a silent prayer, I ask God to forgive me first, and then to create a tender heart in my that is willing to enter the experience of another with the hope of redemption.

What is mercy? It is showing another compassion or forgiveness when it is without your ability to punish or condemn them. It goes beyond withholding judgment out of politeness as in thinking ‘what an idiot’ but not saying it aloud.

Mercy causes a person to consider the needs of the other, to actively pursue the best interest of one that may well justly deserve anger or rejection. Mercy is not to be confused with being naïve or incapable of facing reality like a grandmother who just cannot face up to the truth about her beloved grandson who is a brat for whom she makes all kinds of excuses.

Evil is real. People do awful things, sometimes because they are truly evil, without conscience, consumed by sin’s darkness. It is wrong to excuse all wrong, to ignore the need for justice and judgment, however, we should come to that place carefully, prayerfully, and only after weighing ALL the factors.

Yes, justice is good, but our ‘justice’ is frequently flawed, often colored by self-interest, or fails to account for the context of the actions of another. We need to think about the possibility of redemption or change. We get angry when someone is unkind, or selfish, or hurtful and we want them to pay … except that Jesus calls us to be different. Are you full of mercy? Jesus says that it is a pathway to joy! "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy." (Matthew 5:7, NIV)

The mercy to which God calls us is modeled after His own. He knows us inside out, seeing our core motives, knowing even our ‘secret’ sins. And He holds out hope and renewal. "Where is another God like you, who pardons the sins of the survivors among his people? You cannot stay angry with your people forever because you delight in showing mercy. Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean!" (Micah 7:18-19, NLT)

If we keep a careful record of every slight, every hurt, refusing to be merciful – we become a captive of anger, turning into a sour, cynical individual. No wonder Jesus tells us mercy is a choice that leads to ‘blessedness.’

Dear Christian, are you harsh?
Are you quick to judge?
Do you live in the Old Testament law – “Eye for eye, tooth for tooth?”
Are you a critic?
Do you cast blame on others?

Our word from the Word calls us, in the Spirit, to a new way. "Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do your part to live in peace with everyone, as much as possible. Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God.

For it is written, “I will take vengeance; I will repay those who deserve it,” says the Lord. Instead, do what the Scriptures say: “If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink, and they will be ashamed of what they have done to you.” Don’t let evil get the best of you but conquer evil by doing good."
(Romans 12:17-21, NLT)   

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Father, help us! It’s hard to let You judge,
to release those who hurt us from our condemnation.
Teach us to be merciful, compassionate, and wise through the Spirit.
In Jesus’ name. Amen

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Video at https://www.youtube.com/@JerScott55

Morning Prayer 91

 

Abba, a new morning brings challenges, dreams, work, and hopes – some old, some new. I pray that the Spirit will renew my heart and mind making me ready to meet this day as You would desire. May my will be shaped to Yours.

This world shudders and quakes;
floods, fires, wars, and human cruelty visiting suffering on millions.

Oh, Lord, I pray for that “Your kingdom would come, that Your will would be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”  Come, Lord Jesus, and reign over us, defeating sin’s curse and bringing Heaven’s joys to earth.

Make us aware of our own failures to love well. When we turn to You may the Spirit flow into us and then through us so that we will be a source of hope and genuine care for others. Take our selfishness away and give us generous hearts that choose the best, the highest, the true.

I thank You for the profound grace in the Gospel of Christ Jesus – the message of restoration to You, our Father, through Him. Keep us from religious pride, from trying to do what You have already fully done – remembering that “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

I love you, Lord, and pray these things in the Holy Name of Jesus. Amen.