I ask this question because this week's theme in worship is LOVE ALL.
And, while I think that's a "nice idea," should there be some limits to that love?
Or, if that question seems a bit rough, what if we asked, "What are the boundaries to love?" Are there no boundaries whatsoever, or, for the sake of self-preservation do we need to put up safeguards to reign in our love? After all, it would seem that in Christ Jesus we see what happens when someone loves without boundaries.
What does it mean to really "LOVE ALL?"
So, what do you think?
Showing posts with label Love. Show all posts
Question: What limits are we to put on love?
Love All
We are making our way through The Advent Conspiracy at Girdwood Chapel. The "conspiracy" is about trying to get at the real meaning of Advent through all of the tinsel and dross of this thing called "The Christmas Season." And so, looking at the Biblical account and the overarching themes of Scripture--none of which says to buy lots of cool things for ourselves and others this time of year--we're asking the congregation to focus on what's most important about the message of our coming King as we lead to the birth story.
The themes for Advent are:
- Worship Fully
- Spend Less
- Give More
- Love All
- (with "Share Joy" being used for Christmas Eve)
We've covered the "Worship Fully" and "Spend Less" aspects of our conspiracy so far. This coming week we'll address "Give More" and talk about what we financial resources we can put towards eliminating problems in our world and we'll talk about how we can give more of ourselves to persons we're in contact with in our community. In just a couple of weeks we'll get to the "Love All" portion of the conspiracy.
"Love" has a tendency to be wishy-washy. We make it out to be an emotion, a feeling, state of mind. That kind of love isn't dangerous. That kind of love isn't offensive. That kind of love is not the love that got Christ killed. How do we love everybody in such a way that it is threatening to this world of ours? We are called to a love without limits.
That, truly, is a love that can get one crucified.
That, truly, is the love that comes to us on Christmas morning.
I think the above illustration from David Hayward might make an appearance.
Why I Love Jesus
Because He first loved me.
Really, it's that simple.
Everything else is just response.
My love for Jesus.
My love for other.
Service.
Caring.
Preaching.
Teaching.
Loving.
Recognizing a Disciple of God
“The Pharisees believed others would recognize them as one of God’s disciples because of their theology; Jesus explained that people will actually know you are a disciple of God because of your love.”
(From Mick Mooney over at Searching for Grace. He's been saying a lot that I really like and is well worth following.)
Love, Love, Love, Love, Love
Love, Love, Love, Love, Love...
“Love, love, love. Jesus made prostitutes feel valued, outcasts feel accepted, the religiously condemned feel justified, the lost feel at home, the broken feel whole, the heavy burdened feel free, the thirsty feel refreshed. How did he do it? He did it by loving them.” via
Jesus Didn't Do Fractions
The pharisee's were kind of mathematicians, they liked dealing fractions. Remember how they gave Jesus a hard time, always point their bony fingers, and mumbling to their friends, " look at the kind of people he's hanging out with ", bums, drunks, poor, oppressed, sick, thieves. Jesus was saying, " Well, I just can't help it." God just has a sentimental attachment for his people, whether you like it or not, God loves em and it seems to me they are precious to him.
And this from Eugene Peterson's, The Message, Colossians...
He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he's there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross.
In Jesus, in his Kingdom there are no fractions...he is consumed with the whole, every last speck, every tiny broken fragment. His redemptive passion and imagination is to see it whole, on earth as in heaven.
(This is from Ron Cole: faith unleashed...running wild. See the whole post there.)
Does God Love Everyone?
Well, yes. But as I watched the video below I questioned why so many people can find this love offensive. Some, I'm sure, find the video offensive. The song is called "God Is Not a White Man" by Gungor. The first part of the song, with the refrain, goes like this:
God is not a man, God is not a white manI guess the thing that gets to people is when the song starts naming the people whom God loves...and it's everyone. But, isn't that the same type of thing they struggled with in Jesus' time. God loved the poor. God loved the Samaritan? God loved the unclean?
God is not a man sitting on a cloud
God cannot be bought, God will not be boxed in
God will not be owned by religion
God is love, God is love
And He loves everyone
Watch the video. Hear the song. What do you think?
A QUIZ: Who Does God Love Most In This Picture?
This picture has been making the rounds as of late...at least "the rounds" that I run in on the internet. I saw it last over at Jesus Needs New PR. It's apparently from an old Catholic schoolbook but I really don't know. What I think is most interesting is how any of us might have our own "favorite" to put in the category of who God loves most. And, in turn, we'd probably have our own idea about who it is that God loves least. Not sure I'd pick the plant for the least loved. I bet God has a special place in his heart for the lowly aloe.
Romance and Love -- Words from the Wedding I Officiate Today
I will give you this, my love, and I will not bargain or barter any longer. I will love you, as sure as He has loved me. I will discover what I can discover and though you remain a mystery, save God’s own knowledge, what I disclose of you I will keep in the warmest chamber of my heart, the very chamber where God has stowed Himself in me. And I will do this to my death and to death it may bring me.
I will love you like God, because of God, mighted by the power of God. I will stop expecting your love demanding your love, trading for your love, gaming for your love. I will simply love. I am giving myself to you, and tomorrow I will do it again. I suppose the clock itself will wear thin its time before I am ended at this altar of dying and dying again.
God risked Himself on me. I will risk myself on you. And together, we will learn to love, and perhaps then, and only then, understand this gravity that drew Him, unto us.
More and More the Desire Grows
Image by james.thompson via Flickr“More and more, the desire grows in me simply to walk around, greet people, enter their homes and be known as someone who wants to live with them. It is a privilege to practice this simple ministry of presence. Still, it is not as simple as it seems.
“My own desire to be useful, to do something significant, or to be part of some impressive project is so strong that soon my time is taken up by meetings, conferences, study groups and workshops that prevent me from walking the streets. It is difficult not to have plans, not to organize people around an urgent cause and not to feel that you are working directly for social progress.
“But I wonder more and more if the first thing shouldn’t be to know people by name, to eat and drink with them, to listen to their stories and tell your own and to let them know with words, handshakes and hugs that you do not simply like them- but truly love them.” – Henri Nouwen, ¡Gracias!
I'm not sure if it's "more and more," but it's clear to me that some of the holiest of times in ministry come too infrequently. The most holiest of times are the most intimate, when I am entering into the life of those around me, when I'm breaking bread, not leading communion...when I'm listening, not teaching...when I'm participating in life, not planning for it...when I'm celebrating successes and mourning losses...when I'm connecting most deeply with those around me...when, I feel, my life is most "incarnational."
I'm not sure if it's "more and more," but I know the list of things I have to accomplish in a day of ministry can seem to pull me away from things that matter most. Yes, I know there are things which just must be done. There are tasks that just have to be accomplished. There are reports to file. There are web pages to update. There are meetings to be held. And I do them. But, at the end of the day, I ask myself where have I connected with those around me? Where is it that I have truly loved? Perhaps that's why I really go to the coffee shops...
I'm not sure if it's "more and more" but I am feeling a great need...a great pastoral need to love persons deeply and to share life with them. I feel a need to give myself up in love and not hold back. And I feel a need for our church to do that as well...our church which has increasing bills to pay, ministries to plan, work teams to house, worship services to conduct. How do we love...more than "plan to love"? How do we participate in a ministry of presence...knowing that the stuff of life and business and work still happens around us and in us?
More and more, deep inside of me, I feel a call to love those whom God has given me...those whom he has placed near me, or placed me near them.
And the ironic thing is that the meetings, the planning, the work of the church is the way in which I go about doing this.
This...is how I know to love.
Guide to Reading Rob Bell's "Love Wins"
Here's what she says about reading it:
Love Wins serves as a good starting point for engaging in better conversations about heaven and hell, but a poor ending point. I would heartily recommend this book, but not without these seven suggestions:
1. If you loved the book, read through some negative reviews. If you hated the book, read through some positive reviews. It’s always good to get a second opinion from a reader who might have noticed some things that you didn’t. Exposing yourself to a variety of opinions will help you develop your own with more clarity, integrity, and charity.
2. Follow up on your questions. As I read, I like to mark up my books with underlines, notes, and question marks and then return to them later. For example, I scribbled a question mark next to this sentence on page 177 of Love Wins: “God has no desire to inflict pain or agony on anyone.” As much as I long for this to be true, it seems incompatible with the God who instructed Joshua to kill every man, woman, and child in Jericho. Rather than ignoring this or using it to dismiss the rest of Bell’s points, I plan to explore it further, maybe finally get around to reading Is God a Moral Monster?
3. Read more. Check out Bell’s “Further Reading” (page 201) as well as our list of resources on heaven and hell.
4. Talk things through with friends. Consider starting a book club or hosting a dinner party in which you can discuss the ideas in Love Wins with a variety of people coming from a variety of different perspectives.
5. Avoid slapping a “Love Wins” bumper sticker on your car or wearing a “Team John” T-shirt to church…(says the girl with an unrelated “love wins” bumper sticker on her car—more on that later!) When we reduce this complex and important conversation to two “sides,” as though it were some kind of college football rivalry, we do such an injustice to the Bible, to Christian history, and to the millions upon millions of real people whose lives and whose futures we are discussing. This is not about taking sides. It’s not about shouting each other down. It’s not about black vs. white, right vs. wrong, good vs. bad. There’s too much at stake to try and force Christianity’s cacophony of voices into two competing tones. We must embrace the complexity—within the Bible, within Christianity, and within one another—and avoid the temptation of turning this conversation into “my team” vs. “your team.”
6. Let love win in you. I can’t imagine that anyone could read Love Wins and take issue with Bell’s conclusion that as Christians we should busy ourselves with providing clean water, championing human rights, participating in microfinance, pursuing peace, practicing forgiveness, and celebrating beauty and art. There is common ground to be found here, and the best “apologetic” for a God of unconditional love is a person of unconditional love.
