The call to follow Jesus is the call to love and be loved.
Somehow I always add to that.
In the call to be loved I find things about myself that keep me from falling headlong into the depth and limitless satisfaction Love offers me. That was what I was getting at with the post yesterday. How well do I allow myself to be loved? Do I really believe that Love can go as far as my stuff?
In the call to love others I usually find ways to try to excuse myself from loving that much or loving that person. It’s easy to spot because it usually has a conjunction immediately following my pious statement of intent…”I love them BUT…” See how that works? It’s pretty cool so feel free to try it. I hear myself saying that I love and in the same breath offer myself an excuse for not really loving. It’s taken me years to get this good at that. When I don’t give myself an out I realize that saying I love is not true and leads me to find ways to actually love. Dang.
What if I offered everyone the kind of love that didn’t hear what they said that hurt me or that caused me to label them in some way? What if I offered the kind of love that didn’t see them as my enemy but as my brother or sister in whom lies the ever-abiding image of the Father? What if I offered the kind of love that didn’t say things about them that were untrue or true yet were hurtful and intended to harm?
What if I just loved?
I’m diggin these two posts bro. Keep em coming.