I've been meaning to start a blog for a long time, but decided that blogging about my work meant that I would be working. Then today, Jim, one of the individuals in our Bible reading group suggested we perhaps attempt a blog as a way to involve discussion. Well, why not, I have a lunch hour to write down my reflections on today's reading.
The theme approach involves taking particular passages from the Bible and simply orienting the reader to a particular topic. While the passage may have many different themes, ideas, and meanings, I'll contain my reflections on the one topic.
Today's reading for me was love 1John 3: 1-24.
Here is what stood out for me:
Two Aspects of Love
God's love makes us his children. The love of God means we belong to him first and foremost. "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!" 3:1
I think this love enables two very important things: first, as children of God, an identity that is rooted in God. This identity supersedes an identity based on culture, family, language, and even location. At a time of global turmoil over cultural clashes, often over religious differences, this love supersedes our differences. We belong to him -- all of us. And for those us broken by our past, by faulty human love, this love also centres us as to our real heritage. We belong to him.
Second, if we accept the love of God as real, it requires a response from us: we turn from sin (3:6), purify ourselves (3:3), do what is righteous (3:7), love others (3:10) - to the point we would lay down our lives for our sister and brother (3:14). This is perhaps the most difficult aspect of being loved and loving someone. It requires something of us. I'm challenged by John's writing because this type of love is NOT fluffy. I think many times in the movies, and even in urban stories, the type of love we see being reflected is one of self gratification -- that is -- does it "feel tingly" or "good" for me right now? Mass media love does not require purification, discipline, or doing what is right -- or the type of sacrifice that is asked of us. Here love requires something of us -- even to the point of death.
It is interesting that the first part of love directly talks about the individual's relationship with God and the second aspect of love involves the individual relating to God and to others within their community. Love spreads from God to a person and radiates from the person outwards.
A Challenge to Love
So what about me, how do I love? How do you love? To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure I have the strength to lay my life down for my brother or sister -- the one sitting 2 pews down from me -- on a daily basis. If she fell into the river on a -40C Winnipeg day, I would call 911 and do everything I can to bring this person to safety. I would give her my coat, my money, and even the hot tea in my bag. However, this would be a one day event. But what if this was required of me everyday on a smaller scale? Could I love someone I don't know at all? How about loving the person who hurt me? Or the person who hurt my family? Or the person who caused harm to an entire community? And there, I think, is the rub, loving sacrificially on a day to day basis is more difficult. Loving someone who has hurt me is even more difficult. Loving someone who is the enemy of humanity seems kind of twisted. However, we are called to love and there is no exception to this call. It will require everything in us, and mostly the grace of God, to do so because, at times, we will feel our hearts clenching, our eyes watering, our bodies retching in pain from memories / words, the scars of so many things, and everything in the world will tell us that it is not reasonable to love this person. And in those moments, when we are curled up and dying to ourselves, we may just see God.
My lunch hour is now over and I must get back to work. Your thoughts?
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