All about the love?

Sometimes I wonder what “the world” must think of us. You know who I’m talking about…all of us “Christians” running around flapping our gums about God and His laws and His love and Christian unity…singing about “victory in Jesus” (ironic, given our constant struggles with the same old stuff)…about His “amazing grace” (which we claim to have, yet cannot seem to share). We stand piously on our Bibles, on its verses, on the Ten Commandments; we sit Sunday after Sunday in our comfortable chairs (or cushioned pews) and we greet our friends, sing our songs, shout a few amens, and go home to live that victorious Christian life we’re all busy proclaiming we have (yelling at the kids all the way home…or fighting with our spouse over where we might eat lunch…or sharing the latest tidbits of ‘church gossip’ we just received that day).

But let’s step back for a moment. Do we really live that life? Do we really believe those words written in our Bibles? Let’s just take the familiar passage of 1 Corinthians 13. Yeah, you know the one; it’s the love chapter. We quote it all the time, use its words at all our weddings, and we hear sermons on it regularly. We probably even spout it to our kids when teaching them how to treat one another, and we sure like to pull those verses out to “share” with our spouses when we aren’t getting our way. Okay, maybe I’m the only one raising my hand.

Do you suppose we ever sound like a resounding gong (verse 1) with our empty words of “love”? Do you think God really meant for Paul to say that we could have the gift of prophecy and faith to move mountains, but without love, we are nothing (verse 2)? How about the next verse? Paul goes on to say, we could give all we possess to the poor, but if we have not love, we gain NOTHING. So, the act of “giving to the poor” in and of itself, apparently is not necessarily a sound demonstration of love. Hmmmm. Interesting.

And now for the really familiar words: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. (Know any Christians who boast? Who are prideful? Yes, this is a trick question, because inevitably someone else’s name will pop into your head, as it does mine—and then POW, we are dangerously close to that whole pride/boasting thing after all! Ever been envious of anyone else? No? Good! Then you are actually happy for your friends/neighbors/family when they get new furniture while your shabby and dated couch pops another spring. And you’d rather your pal have that new shirt you saw at the store last week, right? Let’s think bigger—how do we react when our friends/neighbors/family move into their dream home while our own house is bursting at the seams and it’s time to do yet another repair “project”).

Let’s go on. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking OK, OK, stop already! I’m pretty sure I can be really rude when I don’t get my way. And if I had less pride, I could pull a couple of very recent examples right off the top of my head. And what about that whole self-seeking bit? Do we often put the interests of others above our own? NOT! Let’s just scratch the surface of what that means…how often do we use our spending money to bless someone else? Sacrificially, I mean. Blessing someone else when it pinches our wallets a bit? When we “needed” that $20 ourselves? Because it’s pretty easy to “give” when it doesn’t hurt ourselves. Now what about letting someone else “win” the argument when we know we are right! By the way, I have perfectionist tendencies, control-issues, and since I know right from wrong so well, I pretty much expect that everyone else should too. So, yeah, I know what I’m talking about here. J

It is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Wondering, just now, what possessed me to blog about this in the first place. I’m not the most quick-tempered person I know, but my husband might disagree. My kids might disagree also. And I may not hold grudges, but hey, I don’t have to, because I have a REALLY good memory!!

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in truth. In other words, maybe we can’t be so quick to smile when (insert name) falls off their carefully built throne. Maybe we should grieve when (insert name again) has all their poor decisions catch up to them, rather than being the first to say “they deserved it!” Or maybe, instead of judging that nose-ring-wearing kid with the spiked hair, we be the first to welcome them to church—because after all, we actually want them to find the truth! To be set free by it! To experience the revolutionary love of Jesus (which, by the way, was consistently given to society’s rejects, by Jesus Himself).

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. Seriously? Do you suppose Paul meant to write those words? We are to continually hope for the best? We keep giving love to (insert name) even though they never return it and it doesn’t seem to make a difference? We should protect those around us, rather than seeking to slander them? (I know we Christians never actually slander—we “vent” or we share “prayer requests”…our we politely gossip over lunch…but we certainly don’t “slander”. That’s malicious after all!)

And Paul goes on, wrapping up his thoughts, here, and reminded us to GROW UP (verse 11) because we are to put our childish ways behind us. So, back to this whole “love” thing…maybe we can step up and love our families. Y’know, be a little more patient with our kids, give into our spouses’ desires over our own for a day or two. But let’s stretch out a bit. How about to our extended family? Our parents, our siblings and their families, our IN-LAWS (caps used for my own benefit). Does this “love is unselfish” bit include holidays too? Yeah, it probably does. Christmas especially, since, after all, that’s when we’re celebrating Jesus and remembering God’s love for us in sending His Son to earth. Let’s go to the next ripple in our ever-widening circle. What about our friends at church, or those we don’t really like very well? What about the homeless guy who only comes for the free coffee and central heating? And that family that sits in the back—the ones who wear t-shirts and whose kids have stained clothes and are poorly behaved?

Let’s ripple out to the “non-Christians” next door—the biker guy and his live-in girlfriend? The unmarried couple on the other side; yeah, the ones with the kids or step-kids or whatever-they-are. What about that gay guy?

Let’s ripple farther to those of another political party? Maybe the left-wingers? Or the right-wingers? Maybe those of another race or ethnicity? Even another religion?

What about those in the Body of Christ who worship at another church? No, no, not your sister church—I mean the one who doesn’t quite believe the same way YOUR church believes. Or those folks who attend the mega church with its luxurious décor, its coffee bar and state-of-the-art sound system? Yeah, that church. Where all the rich people go who just want to feel good for going to church every Sunday. (Oops. That sounded dangerously close to pride again. And I might have just forgotten about the ‘rejoice in truth’ bit. WHO AM I to judge the hearts of a crowd just because their church is so large? And because they have a famous Pastor?) What about that tiny church down the street—the one that’s so dead, all it’s members are literally dying of old age? Or that one across town that our neighbor goes to, but we wouldn’t go there because they’re pretty dry—just not quite as far along as “our” church. Spiritually, I mean. Are all these groups of people in the SAME BODY OF CHRIST? Are we acting like it?

If we find these divisions among ourselves so easily, and if we can identify with them, why do we think we’re fooling “the world?” And what on earth is going to bring any of the “lost” into our doors? Because once they’re in, we’ll turn the key and lock it. We’ll explain why our church is the “only” one—or maybe we’ll say the “best” one. We’ll explain (politely) all they need to do to change and fit into our congregation. We’ll sign them up for the programs that need help, and explain how it’s “Christian duty”. And we’ll tell them all about the love of Christ. And we’ll get them baptized and sanctified and all that. We’ll hand them our favorite version of the Bible, it will, of course, be the “right” version, but if they happen to have another one at home, we’ll allow them to keep it too. We might even invite them to lunch! And hopefully, they’ll ignore our backbiting and gossiping and judging and selfishness and pride and arrogance and all that stuff, and they’ll stay. Because we need numbers, and we like to see people saved. (and if they hang around long enough, they might even start to tithe!) And of course, because they’ll see the victory we have in Jesus, and they’ll want some of it too. (As soon as they quit drinking, stop smoking, shed their extra earrings, cover up their tattoos, get married to their live-in, turn from the wicked ways, and follow Jesus, that is).

Maybe I’d better read back through the “love” chapter…and maybe I’d better read more about how Jesus “loved” others. I’m not sure I’ve got this down yet.

Overcast Friday...

This morning, glancing out the window just as daylight was arriving, I saw that it was going to be the perfect “soup day”. But what kind, what kind? I found beef in broth, frozen, from a roast made some time back. Perfect to use for dinner, along with “just enough” frozen veggies remaining in a bag. Add a jar of my home-canned, stewed tomatoes…I had all I needed on hand. Boy, I wish my dinner plans were always “that” easy! (For 2 years, I’ve resolved to do menu planning, and tried various systems…bottom line? Nothing has stuck yet. But I’m still tryin’) I also found a new recipe for “perfect” brownies to try…I cut ‘em really small, but I’ve already had 2. They’re really, really good. I’ll probably post the recipe today or tomorrow. It’s worth sharing!

And so, it is early evening…we have gray skies; the air is cold and crisp with a stiff breeze. We haven’t seen the sun today, and this morning, we had drizzly winter rain falling for a time. I love days like this—perfect for a loaf of bread, freshly baked; a pot of soup simmering on the stove; and a pan of home-made brownies, still warm from the oven. A cozy candle burns in the kitchen, adding another light layer of scent. Mmmmm, cranberry!

No, my days do not always flow smoothly…but today, despite a very fussy baby, things have rolled along without much difficulty. Until I sat down to blog, that is. LOL. I paint a peaceful picture…and for a few moments, the scene is as I paint it to be. But those blessed moments do not last. And dinner is, sometimes, PB & J sandwiches. Or (gasp!) a bowl of cold cereal. And then I resolve to do better, the next day.

My husband called; he’s late again, getting off work. Every day this week, he’s been at least an hour late coming home—the next shift people don’t come on time…his boss adds to an already full “to-do” list…various reasons. All amounting to, a tired Daddy and a tired Mama. And split-up mealtimes. But my husband will be happy to come home to some brownies, at least—I hope! And likely, a bowl of warm and hearty soup along with a thick slice of bread will hit the spot as well. Praise God that today, I was able to put together a meal worth coming home to!!!