It’s finals week here (this'll be short). Even so, with my mental faculties fatigued and my heart longing to be home with the Christmas tree, my family, rest, and momma’s monkey bread, I was struck by something today that Donald Miller wrote…
"Imagine how much a man's life would be changed if he trusted that he was loved by God? He could interact with the poor and not show partiality, he could love his wife easily and not expect her to redeem him, he would be slow to anger because redemption was no longer at stake, he could be wise and giving with his money because money no longer represented points, he could give up on formulaic religion, knowing that checking stuff off a spiritual to-do list was a worthless pursuit, he would have confidence and the ability to laugh at himself, and he could love people without expecting anything in return. It would be quite beautiful, really."
I don’t pretend to understand the vastness that is the love of God. It leaves me speechless and breathless. It leaves me overwhelmed with joy and simultaneous sorrow because I realize how many days I end and have utterly failed to love people as God would. I’ve been selfish, disconnected, inconsiderate, and apathetic. If we really sought to emulate the love of God in our lives, things would look so differently. Through God’s grace and the work of his spirit in me, I’m going to try to be a reflection of that challenge brought by Paul to the Corinthians – a challenge to love.
…Heidi is patient, she is kind. She does not envy, she does not boast, she is not proud. Heidi is not rude, and she is not self-seeking she is not easily angered, and she keeps no record of wrongs. Heidi does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. She always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres…
We’re about to celebrate the physical manifestation of love coming to earth in the form of a baby for the purpose of reconciling fallen humanity with its perfect creator. Oh that we would live in light of the truth of that love. Let's do it.
Merry Christmas!
