'Let all that you do
be done in love' 1 Corinthians
16:4
'For the whole law is
summed up in a single commandment, 'You shall love your neighbour as
yourself' Galatians 5:14
'Above all, clothe
yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect
harmony' Colossians 3:14
'Whoever does not love
does not know God, for God is love' 1 John 4:8
'There is no fear in
love, but perfect love casts out fear' 1 John 4:18
The longer I have been
on this journey of faith the more I have realised that there is no
getting close to God without love. As is so well put by the authors
above, God is love and our relationship to that love is shown by our action in the
world and how we treat one another. There are no short cuts, there is
no getting of the hook. Love is what formed the world and it is what
we are made for. Just like skipping 'Go' in Monopoly, we cannot bypass
love and still collect £200!
In Paul's classic
passage on love in 1 Corinthians, that you have no doubt heard many
times at weddings, the characteristics of love are
laid bare. Love isn't arrogant or boastful or self seeking. It isn't
resentful or irritable or rude. It never fails. I don't know about you but I fail
miserably at this love test. And it really is done miserably because lack of love is
like a wound within us.
As I reflect on love, and my lack of it, I've come to think it has
something to do with the last passage quoted above on the
relationship between love and fear. We live with an awful lot of fear
in our lives. Fear of what others think of us, fear around our value
(or lack of), fear about our place in our own world ( aren't we always questioning
if we are even meant to be there?), fear that we are unloved or even simply
unlovable. Piles and piles of fear that colour all our interactions
and that we act out of constantly.
I am reading an
interesting book on this at the moment and the author raised the
point that much of our judgement and lack of love for others is often
a projection of our worst fears about ourself. I can see a lot of
truth in that. When we consciously begin to let go of snap judgements
and condemnation of others we can begin to let ourselves of the hook
too. When we forgive others, we can forgive ourselves. To love someone doesn't demand their perfection. Likewise we
don't need to be perfect to be worthy of love either.
In the Christian story
Jesus, God made man, comes to demonstrate true love to humanity. Love
that ultimately led him to his death. A key part of that message is that God
didn't come to a rescue a perfect world, he came to rescue a world
full of war, anger and a bunch of people who just don't know how to
love. He came to us imperfect because he knows our true value, that
each of us is truly wonderful from the top of our head to the tips of
our toes. He sees what each of us should be and can be when we are
reconnected to the place that we came from, the beating heart of love
that is the origin of all things.
I'm using the phrase
'perfect love casts out all fear' as somewhat of a mantra these days.
When I feel insecure and want to act out, when I compare myself
favourably or otherwise to other people, when I am irritated or
frustrated with someone else I am trying to choose love over fear. With each conscious decision I hope that love will grow, that I will become more who I am meant to be. It's not an easy task but if you're
seeking God, I think it is the only real way.
