There is a lot to be said about love.
There is a lot to be said and so it’s no surprise that a lot has been said. Also unsurprisingly, although a lot has been said not all that’s been said has done the topic any good. So I don’t approach this subject glibly or lightly.
There is something about the nature of love that does not give itself over easily to sentiment. There is something relentless and remorseless about experiencing the love of God. There is something about it where we appreciate that this is not about feelings, it s about action, it is about a will set on expressing itself in a variety of circumstances.
It is only on reaching adulthood that I can observe that in the sacrifices and commitments my parents made for my siblings and I to have the best possible start they could afford for us. Becoming a parent myself and witnessing these children grow also heightens the appreciation for love being a state of the will to act. It does not negate the feelings, it does not say they don’t exist – there is the pain of the rejection and hostility, there is the anguish at the flagrant disobedience and wilful rebellion. All that is there and through that there is the call to act from the place of commitment.
That kind of love is not something exclusively for families related by blood. There is something as enduring and relentless when it comes to relationships between people who have walked through experiences together and forged a deep and meaningful bond through victories, successes, adversity and setbacks. There’s something selfless about acknowledging that bond to be of such a precious value that even if or even when the worst happens you will not forsake and reject, but stand firm and stand by.
The ‘even if and even when’ kind of love is the one that’s marked out above all the other kinds of love that’s wafted across life. It’s even more to experience this incredible kind of love when you’ve done nothing to deserve it and have no reason to receive it.
It’s this kind of love that I am grateful for and it’s this kind of love that I know I need both to exist and to share with others.
(Photo by Jordan Whitt on Unsplash)
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
Life With CD 