LOVE

 

I had the privilege of preaching this past Sunday morning.

The passage was the passage where 

Jesus challenged his followers to live in unity with one another as he was in unity with God.

Jesus challenged us to do this not through conformity, but through love.

 

As I thought about it,

I began to wonder what love actually meant. 

We hear the word love all the time. 

But how do we actually love? 

 

I came up with a simple acrostic to answer my own question:

 

Listen

Open your heart

Value others as God’s beloved 

Empower others with the love of Christ

 

This is great, I thought. 

Love lived out. 

 

But then I began to wonder: 

What if people don’t want to be loved? 

What if people don’t want to be heard or see or valued or empowered? 

 

Here’s an excerpt of what I came up with…

 

Here’s a hard truth:

We can’t force unity.

But we can still love. 

 

We can:

Refuse to hate even in the face of hate.

Refuse to mock even in the face of mockery.

Refuse to slander even in the face of slander.

Refuse to judge even in the face of judgment.

 

Love doesn’t mean staying close to mistreatment or abuse

Or being silent in the face of injustice.

 

Love means setting healthy boundaries

And sometimes stepping back—

Not to reject others but to protect ourselves.

 

But even in distance,

We can keep our hearts open and

Hold space for healing.

 

Even in distance,

We can trust God to do the work

That we simply cannot do.

 

Oh God: 

Help us to love 

With a love that only you can give. 

And when people don’t want to receive it

Or respond with hate, 

Help us to love anyway. 

Amen.