| Rev Deborah: "The Gift of Love" ~ 12/2/07 | | Print | |
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~ You are welcome to forward this to others, please credit the author. ~
The Gift of LoveFor God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
This coming Wednesday, February 14th, is Valentine's Day. I'm telling you this in case you've been living underground for the past several weeks and thus missed out on the advertising for diamonds, stuffed animals, cards, candy, and flowers.
It's a funny sort of celebration of "love."
If you've ever been in love you know perfectly well that experience — that sensation of breathless joy and elation — cannot be bought. What can compare? A hundred pounds of chocolate? A jewelry box filled with emeralds? A Lexus in the driveway? Worthless in comparison. Nothing else can put us into the state of chronic delight that love bestows.
Love makes us feel alive; it is as if all our senses are renewed and reawakened. We are keenly aware of the depth of the night sky and the brilliance of the stars. The sun is warmer, the grass is greener, the flowers more fragrant. The birds sing their morning glorias just for us. Our hearts are filled with joy and hope and sweet expectation. At any moment our beloved may call, and we will hear the voice that makes our soul dance.
Love.
It makes us a little bit crazy; a sweet intoxication that infuses us with tender concern for all the world. Our happiness bubbles over into every aspect of our lives: we smile at strangers, go out of our way to hold open doors, replace the paper in the photocopy machine, and speak kindly to everyone we meet. Minor annoyances cause us no distress — instead we mentally file the events as stories to tell our sweetheart when next we speak.
Love.
Love.
It cures us of selfishness: our thoughts are always directed to our beloved. Everything reminds us of our dear one: a joke we know will bring laughter, a song that will delight, a story that will be of interest. Their sadness is our sadness, their joys are our joys. It is as if our "two hearts have but a single beat."
Love.
Love changes everything.
For God so loved the world ....
God — our Beloved — sent us the radiant Lord Christ: the gift of Love Incarnate. He came not to condemn, but to bless, to teach, and to guide. In His life we have Life: compassion, kindness, faith, and love.
Jesus said, "You will give glory to God by living as My disciples. As the Beloved loves Me, so I have loved you: live in My love."
God loves us.
Love.
That unreasoning, illogical, wildly passionate and transforming at-one-ness is how our Beloved feels about us. That is the Gospel message the Lord Christ brought to us.
Happy Valentine's Day,
Deborah + This Week's Suggested Spiritual Exercise:
Beloved, since God loves us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and God's love is perfected in us.
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