I have said on one then more occasion - and I have not been the first - that there are two basic emotions in life. Love and fear. One cannot love what they fear and to fear something - or someone - is to create a barrier to love. We often have trouble loving ourselves because we fear what we will see and we fear God will not accept us if we are honest about ourselves. When we fear people who are different then us we find it hard to love them. When we fear people who think or believe differently then us we find it difficult to love them. The Scriptures remind us that "perfect love casts out fear". Not "perfect" in the sense of neurotic perfection but in this case "perfect" means "on the way to wholeness or completeness." So, a complete love casts out fear and invites others in.
I like how Joyce Rupp describes the nature of love in her book The Open Door:
"One of love's marvelous qualities is its capacity to never cease growing. As our selflessness expands, it continually affects our world. May a day never pass without attempting to keep in our hearts the expansive love that Brad and Jan Lundy visualize:
'Imagine what life would be life if this love continued to expand, it if moved through our families, out into our neighborhoods and towns. Imagine waves of love continuing to roll, building in intensity, surging across boundaries and borders into other countries, dissolving barriers between people and nations. This Sea of Love grows in scope, in power, until everything in its pathy is absorbed by it, enlivened and healed by it. Until everything, everyone, is awash in Love. What will our world be like if Love is all there is?
Today, anoint the world with your love!
No comments:
Post a Comment