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Writer's pictureJoe Palmisano

The Joy and Heartache of Love


Theme: Love fulfills all.


Clive Staples Lewis was arguably the most influential Christian writer of his day in England. He taught and held Chairmanships at Oxford University for much of his life before leaving this world in 1963.


Lewis wrote this about love: “To love at all is vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. To keep it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully around with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in a casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket-safe, dark, motionless, airless-it will change. It will not be broken but become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside of Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all dangers and perturbations of love is Hell.”


Pastor Dan spoke this past Sunday on John 13:34. Using this verse, he described how Jesus commanded them to love one another, but with a caveat. This command was His way of distilling all the laws they were taught into one command that fulfilled all. That caveat was that they and we are to love as He loved. Now, that changes everything. We often love enough to be unique from the world, but to love like Jesus loved is outrageous and conspicuous.


Pastor taught us that we could find ways around laws, but how do we get around this? Loving as Christ loved is either a do or do not command. There is no grey area there. Jesus asked for nothing, gave to all unselfishly, and ultimately allowed Himself to be humiliated and killed by those He came to save. He did not ask what denomination or religion someone was before He healed them. He did not demand allegiance before He fed them. He loved unconditionally, even allowing one whom He knew would betray Him to dine with Him on the night He would act. How can we love like that?


My answer is that I do not know. But thanks be to God for “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭13‬ ‭NIV‬‬). Through the Holy Spirit, we can learn to love this way increasingly, and by doing so, we will learn that this love will cause us to fulfill the entire Law and fully obey our Lord and Savior. Like Jesus, we, too, will have unsurpassed joy and a broken heart. A broken heart, however, is far better than an unbreakable one.‬‬‬


 


Scripture: 1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭19‬ ‭(NIV)‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬


“We love because he first loved us.”


 

Prayer:


Lord, how can we love as you loved while on earth? How can we love as you loved us before we acknowledged and glorified you? Yet, this is what you demand for us, and I love and fear this demand because it is impossible for us to fulfill. The laws of the past we could try and even sometimes succeed. But the command to love as you love, Lord, is beyond my imagination. I love it because it reminds me of my weakness, Lord, and your power and strength in my weakness. I cannot meet this command, but you can, Lord and you are in me, and I am in you. Thank God for one command that will fulfill your Law and thank you that it is only attainable in you. Amen

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