Devotions
Conflict will happen at some point in any human interaction. If you exist in a community, it is only a matter of time before someone offends you, abuses you, mistreats you, curses you or hates you. Perhaps, right here in the workplace, you have experienced an offense. The world says, “An eye for an eye,” but Jesus commands that when confronted by these enemies of the soul, love is the appropriate response.
It’s February and love is in the air. Many people are already busy searching for the perfect Valentine’s Day gift or experience. But Valentine’s Day isn’t for everyone. There are millions who are excluded on this day of love. The truth is that sometimes we adults make love much more complicated than it ought to be. For instance, pinned to my bedroom wall is a simple work of art that my son made in second grade.
In times like these it is easy to doubt whether God loves humanity. It is easy to doubt whether God loves you. The logical mind is tempted to wonder how a loving God can stand by and do nothing when there is so much difficulty, so much heartache and so much confusion going on in the lives of people he created in his own image. Where is he when it hurts, why is he so quiet when calamity looms, why can’t he do something? These are the murmurings of the flesh because the flesh automatically rejects pain and discomfort.
Love. Perhaps no other topic in the universe has been talked about, sang about or bandied about as much as the topic of love. Some of us grew up believing that love was this breathless wonder, this overpowering emotion that can leave one breathless or set one’s heart racing uncontrollably. Such love is worldly and often fickle; like froth in a coffee cup it frequently loses air and goes flat.
February is here, and with it, the sounds and symbols of Valentine’s Day as millions prepare to celebrate love. But what is love? Is it the swooning feeling that comes over us when we see someone we are attracted to? Is it the chocolates, flowers, teddy bears and candy we exchange as a mark of undying devotion to one another? According to the apostle Paul, love goes so much deeper than this. Love means considering the needs of others first.
