Sojourner #022: O' For A Love

"So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13)

Series: From The Editor's Desk

While logging more miles on my bicycle the other night I crossed paths with a couple that I won’t soon forget. She appeared to be training for an ultra, head to toe in all the gear that such an adventure requires, trucking headlong into the night, mile after mile. But she wasn’t alone, her husband was by her side, though not quite in the way you’d probably imagine. 

He did not appear to be impressive in any way, though he impressed me. Not in running shape, he instead held pace with her by riding a bicycle not made for that task either. Mountain bikes are not made for the road, nor for speed, yet there he sat upon it, pedaling away. He did not look like he necessarily felt great or like he would’ve chosen that activity for himself, but he was there all the same. And I reckon if I’d asked, he’d have told me there’s really nowhere else he’d rather be. In that moment I found out pretty much everything I needed to know about their character.

As I rode past them the thought occurred to me that true love does not often look how we think it does, true strength does not always show itself how we expect, and true joy does not unveil itself how we say it does. Rather, it looks a lot like sacrifice, selflessness, and intentionality directed towards another not dictated by how one feels in the moment but by something much greater. 

On my way out I passed them again, still going strong. As I loaded up my bicycle I nodded at him and thought to myself that I may not be able to do much, but I can do that. I may never master all the tides of the world, but I can love like that; I can give my life. I thought to myself that he showed himself a man, that whether knowingly or not his actions were a picture of what true love really looks like. 

Sometimes I think we see the light displayed amongst the shadows, amongst its lesser glories, and yet sometimes it is by the light we see everything else as it really is. 

In keeping with testimony of Scripture it remains ever clear to me that love is patient and it is kind and it bears all things and it believes all things and it hopes all things and it endures all things and it does not envy and it does not boast and it does not insist on its own way and it is not arrogant and it is not rude and and it is not irritable or resentful and it does not rejoice in wrongdoing and it never ends (1 Cor. 13).

Ultimately, we see the truest form of love displayed in the cross of Jesus Christ. We see it in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Rom. 5:8). There is no greater love than that, and it looks very different than what the world offers us. It is an irresistible grace not dependent upon who we are but instead, who He is (1 Jn. 4:8). It fundamentally challenges and changes everything we think we know about what love is. 

Consider the exhortation given in Galatians 5:13-14:

[13] For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. [14] For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

By His life, death, and resurrection, Christ has truly set us free. Through His great redeeming love He has sufficiently borne our griefs and carried our sorrows (Is. 53:4). By faith in Him, we are reconciled to God through Him who loved us and gave Himself for us (Eph. 5:2). This is the Gospel, and it is the clearest picture of biblical love that we will ever know; we'd do well to consider our lives in light of it. 

This type of love is different than the type of love that the world offers. It is self-sacrificing, compassionate, gracious, and enduring. It is a love that wills the good of another, not dependent on fleeting passions or ever-changing emotions, but dependent upon who God is and what He has done for us. This type of love gives freely without expectation and serves faithfully through the difficulties and trials of this life.

The questions present themselves: Do we love one another in this way? Do our relationships model this type of Christ-like love? Do we really understand what love is?

At some point in my life, by the grace of God, the thought occurred to me that one day I am going to die. One day this life will end and there will be no opportunity for me to go back and live it again. The way that I spend my days on this side of eternity is the way that I will spend the one life I have to live. It is a sobering reality. One that makes me really think about the way that I spend my time and who I spend it with. I want to spend my days in a way that honors the Lord. I want to love the things that He loves and steward the time that He has given me well. One day I am going to die, and I want to die knowing that I have loved others in the way that Christ has loved me. I'd like my relationships with other people to model the love of God and point to the grace we've been shown in Jesus. Now, I am not very good at that - those reading this who know me best know this to be true. 

Many times I fall short, I err. A good bit of the time I'm introverted yet somehow I talk too much. Most of the time I miss what's right in front of me and other times I do things I later come to regret. On top of all of that, there has never been a moment in my life that I have loved the Lord as I ought, and as a result of that, there has never been a moment where I have loved others as I should. But Christ has loved me perfectly. He is the great hero in the story of my life. He has set me free from the law's demands and so worked in me that my stubborn, stony heart has become a heart of flesh. Through His Word He commands me to serve others in love - by faith.

Therefore, in spite of my many failings and missteps, I can press on. By God's grace I can figuratively and literally ride my bicycle. Dragging my feelings along by faith and wisdom - looking to Jesus. 

Not long ago a wise man told me that if you want to grow a garden the first step is deciding to grow it in the first place. Only after that do you begin to plant seeds, pull weeds, and water crops. Accordingly, there is a challenge for each of us. We must determine what kind of garden we would like to grow and who we'd like to grow it with. Then we may begin to plant seeds, trusting that God will provide the growth - for His own glory and for the good of His people.

Tonight, as you eat your chocolates and eye your flowers, consider the greatest love this world has ever known. Lift your eyes to Jesus, and love one another in light of the realities of heaven. Think about the garden you are growing, today.

Happy Valentine's Day.

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