e view our lives in different segments—finances, family, work, relationships, church, and spiritual affairs. Jesus said to love God and neighbor, and gave us opportunities to practice that in all of the segments listed above. We can say easily: “I’m a mother.” “I’m a cab driver.” “I’m clergy.” Even “I’m a child of God.” But we wouldn’t dare say, “I am love” or “I’m working on becoming love.” Though we profess as Christians to love God and all of God’s children, we really find love very difficult to live and to be. Jesus Christ didn’t just teach about love, he practiced it daily; he was love.
It’s much easier for us to do and show acts of love. This lets us pick and choose where and when. Being love, however, means every day in every situation with everybody. Who can be all of that? Yet, that’s what we’re called to be as Christians—lovers of all God’s children.
In the Gospels, Jesus left us a love map. John Wesley divided it into Acts of Mercy and Acts of Piety. In Covenant Discipleship, David Watson broke it down further into Acts of Devotion, Worship, Compassion, and Justice, and suggested that we write specific clauses under each. All of this was to help us get started on and adhere to our spiritual journey. And we don’t have to do it alone. We’re encouraged and joined by other persons in our Covenant Discipleship Groups, but best of all, we’re assured that God is with us. Yet we still have trouble relating our journey to one of love. Is it that we consider each clause as the end product?
We applaud ourselves when, after a year of focusing on specific clauses, we can say, “Yes, I attend church regularly, pray daily, and give my service in the soup kitchen.” But do we then move on to the next step individually and as a group? That next step may include participating more fully in hymn singing or personalizing and meditating on a scripture passage. In our minds and hearts, do we feel the connection with the people we pray for, even those we don’t know? Do we really look into their eyes and see God in the people we serve in the soup kitchen? God is constantly nudging us to come on up a little higher and love.
In a spiritual we sing, “Lord, make me more loving. . . .” This one line, for me, gets right to the center of my being. Make me more loving with my family, neighbors, church members, co-workers, the people I pass on the street, particularly those I fear. Lord, make me more loving on the highways when traffic is stalled, or an aggressive driver is honking at me, or I’m becoming an aggressive driver myself.
“It’s too much!” I say, “I can’t be that perfect!” The good news is, I don’t have to do it alone or all at once. God will help me “put on the whole armor of God to stand against the wiles of the devil (which may be my own thoughts)” (Eph. 6:11), before I answer a hurting verbal jab, wander into dangerous territory, or give in to gossip. It takes practice, practice, practice! I forget! I stumble and fall, but I get up and try again to do it better.
Things happen when least expected, but there’s always enough time to pray, “Lord, make me more loving,” and then to ask myself, “How would Jesus handle this? What would he say? How would he pray? How could he love this unlovable person? How could he forgive the leader of that country or the abuser of those children?” With all the evil surrounding us in the world, I ask myself, “What’s love got to do with it?” The answer quickly comes back: everything! “Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrong-doing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails” (1 Cor. 13: 4-7). This is powerful! This is where I need to center my devotions . . . not on the whole paragraph, just on one phrase at a time. I’ll be working on this for a long time.
Next week, I’ll board a plane for Nashville. Random thoughts of recent plane disasters will pop into my mind. Is there a terrorist on board? Did the pilot get enough sleep? Will we make it?
“Lord, what can I do of a positive nature that will be a loving act for the people on board with me?” Perhaps I’ll send the mental thought to the pilot, “God loves you and I love you.” I’ll send that same thought to each person sitting ahead of me as I hold my eyes for a few seconds on them. I’ll send that thought to the people behind me that I can’t see. I don’t know any of them but God does and God loves them, so I can too. And the more I picture them and think of God and love, the more I begin to feel the Christly connection with them. I become calm, for I know that God is here. I know that God will use my journey of love to bless the people I’ve blessed and will bless me as I pray to become love in action.
This is just the beginning. The word love is not written in any one of my clauses, but it’s there in all of them waiting for me to find these treasured opportunities.
| It's All About Love |
| My Story | Means of Grace |
| Council for Accountable Discipleship: Annual Meeting 1999 |
| Book Review- Worship & Daily Life: A Resource for Worship Planners |
| Subscription Card | Cultivating Sprouts |
