Love Stories

And now it’s Istanbul; Dhaka, Bangladesh; Bagdad; Medina; Dallas and more.

In our most recent conversation, we talked about the unspeakable acts that keep happening, the many innocent people killed and injured and families around the world gripped in spasms of grief. This time, we’re not going to talk about that, even though plenty more has happened. Sometimes enough is enough. At least for a while.

Instead, Jesus has us talking about love – love for everybody, not just our friends and families – but for those with whom we do not get along, those who are unkind to us, who persecute us. Jesus shows us the path away from this senseless destruction, how to counteract these evil forces. Jesus brings it home to a place where we can take action, where we can stem and in time turn the momentum facing us now.

This time, let’s tell love stories.

Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Love story number one:

More than once, when I have held onto hard feelings against another person, I have experienced God-given transformation in my heart. I have felt it when God acted within me and took away the hard feelings and replaced them with compassion. I always know that it is God’s action because the compassion would not be coming from me alone.

“All I really know for certain, babe
Is that Love Is All There Is.”

Refrain from Sheryl Crow’s song “Love is All There Is”

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And I have been the recipient of much love in the last couple of weeks. Our family cat Socks, 19 years old, gave me quite a scare several nights ago in that she suddenly couldn’t walk right, wobbling unsteadily. I called the emergency vet who said to bring her in, which I did. The good news is that it turned out her arthritis was acting up, as we say in the South, and she must have just had a hitch that she couldn’t shake. They gave her pain medicine and sent us home.

Socks continued to not feel well, though, hibernating and not eating much at all. So we went back to the emergency vet to get her some medicine for nausea. Once we got that done, she’s been back to her regular routine, perky and eating incessantly.

During the ordeal, when I was stressed and anxious, fearful about what was happening, one friend said that she was praying that the Holy Spirit would hold my hand and Socks’ paw. And another offered to do anything she could to help.

“All I really know for certain, babe
Is that Love Is All There Is.”

And one more love story. I have always known that God loves me, but within this same period of time, God moved within me in a whole new way, a deeper way, to let me know that I – as all of us are – am God’s beloved.

I felt it, really felt it, not just in my head but deep in my heart and soul as well. As I took Socks to the emergency vet the first time, after midnight, I started to feel overwhelmed, wished I weren’t alone. And then I remembered I wasn’t alone. God was with me. We would do this together. And that’s how it was all through the following days of watching over her and making sure she continues to be alright.

“All I really know for certain, babe
Is that Love Is All There Is.”

In the BBC show “Doc Martin,” which many of you may very well have seen, the two main characters Martin and his wife Louisa struggle in their marriage, their relationship. Frustrated, Louisa asks why it has to be so hard, so complicated between them. Why can’t it be easier, simple?

“All I really know for certain, babe
Is that Love Is All There Is.”

And it really is, down deep at the center of things, very simple for all of us, for you and for me. Jesus doesn’t keep it a secret, but says it right out: Love is the way to go.

This week, I invite you to join me in pledging that every morning we’ll ask God to show us how to love each person with whom we will have contact that day. And each night to thank God for the people in our lives and for the love that we have shared with them. And let’s see what happens. Let’s see what God reveals to us as we approach this week in this way together. Let’s watch for the miraculous surprises that only God can provide. Let’s watch for peace in our lives, peace in our time.

Together, let’s watch for a fuller understanding of the truth that love is all there is. That much we know for certain.