The Day Love Was Born

Yesterday was my older son Grant’s birthday. And for a selfish person such as myself, that marks the day when God truly began to teach me about love.

For a person like me, thoroughly consumed by self, holding that tiny baby in my arms twelve years ago meant the realization that I really do not matter. Looking into his deep eyes I knew that someone had finally arrived into my life that made me think of myself less. 

Somewhere between gently rubbing his cute and chubby, baby cheeks and changing his first diaper I found out what they mean when they say love is sacrifice. Watching him roll over for the first time, begin to play, take his first steps, get his first knee scrape, learn how to ride a bike (Gosh, was that frustrating), show his first signs of stubbornness and his knack for arguing I am learning what commitment is all about. Listening to his first words, seeing him coming to me for a hug, hearing him call me Mom, I have experienced the warm and fuzzy side of love.

The Holy Spirit is showing me every day through my sons what He means when he inspired Paul to says:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7

The day love was born in my heart, the Lord began to show me how to disappear so He can truly and fully reign in my life.

How Easy Is It to Forgive?

How easy is it to forgive abusive parents? How easy is it to forgive the mother that never showed you love? The father who abandoned you? The brother who turned his back on you? 

How easy is it to forgive the relatives who chose to forsake you? The friends who betrayed you? The one who broke your heart?

Forgiveness is a choice. It is, however, one nearly impossible to make on your own.

There are wounds too deep to heal. There are hurts too strong to overcome. There is pain too awful to endure. There are blows too evil to forgive.

From our human perspective and by our mortal strength, that is.

The supernatural power of the Most High, on the other hand, can, not only patch up the broken heart, but restore it. He can seal the cut and make us new. He is able to make the pain go away and transform us. He is the One who can help us forget. He is the One who can teach us how to forgive.

Even if the relationship is never restored. Even if the aggressor is never repentant. Even if the oppressor never knows it. Even if there is no evidence of punishment.  Forgiveness is the one step we must take in order to find peace. 

Forgiveness is ultimately an act of love, not the kind of love that fizzles, not the kind of love that evaporates in the heat of life’s struggles. Forgiveness is a reflection of the Love that we carry inside, the Love Divine, the Love that sacrifices, the Love that is willing to hang on a cross for us…undeserving us…

How do we do the impossible, then? We don’t do it alone. We do it by the power of the Holy Spirit who transfers His strength to us as we invoke Him and as we move toward obedience. We do it repeatedly, over and over again, until the sincerity of our hearts inspires Godly sorrow for the one who hurt us…not seven times, but seventy-seven times, forever, until the pain is washed away.

How easy is it to forgive? Not easy, but not impossible either, thanks to Him, through whom all things are possible.

Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."  Matthew 19: 26

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.   Colossians 3:12-14

The Road to Emmaus

Luke tells us in chapter 24:13-34 an extraordinary story that speaks volumes about the way Jesus reveals Himself to us. These two men were, most likely, escaping Jerusalem after the events of the crucifixion because they probably didn’t feel safe there. They might have been going back home too. Who knows? The thing is that they were on their way to a village called Emmaus. On the road, as they were walking, feeling sorry for themselves and for everything that had transpired back in Jerusalem, a mysterious man joins them.

Of course, we know the mysterious man is Jesus, Himself! He walks with them and talks to them. He opens up Scripture to them. He makes the Word become alive right in front of their faces. The two men, however, cannot recognize Him. They encounter the Divine on their path of sorrow, but they cannot see it. Their eyes were blurry with pain and tears for the great loss they had suffered. Their hope was gone and their souls were downcast.

Can’t we all testify to a moment like that in our lives, can we?

Don’t we find ourselves often on the road to our own private Emmaus? 

There we are…dragging our feet on the road marked with sorrow, pain, shame, loneliness, illness, poverty, anguish, anxiety, instability, frustration, depression, fear, doubt, abandonment…the dirt of the road sticking to the sole of our shoes and the salty taste of sweat mixed in with tears dripping down our mouths. Our arms limply hanging by our sides as our eyes want to poke a hole on the ground where we can hide for a long while.

The road to Emmaus is not a happy one. It is not a road filled with joy and carelessness. It is a path of struggle. It’s the road of the fugitive.

Even there, however, in the midst of our distraction, Christ finds us. Even there, as we walk immersed in our own self-pity and misery, the Light of the World shines for us. Even there, as we wander lost, trying to escape…the True Way shows up. 

At the appointed time, at the precise right moment, Jesus reveals Himself and the veil is torn from our eyes. Just like with the two men on the Road to Emmaus, our eyes are blurred as our heads hang low. We are not able to see Him. But as He has walked with us for a while and we are ready to commune with Him, it is in the intimacy of the relationship that He shows Himself…and that’s when we say: “were not our hearts burning within us while He talked…” Were we not on fire as He walked with us?

Knowing the Truth doesn’t mean, however, we would be spared from walking the road to Emmaus. Sooner or later we might have to, anyway. Knowing the truth means that when we are on it, we don’t lose hope, for Hope walks with us, even if we can’t feel Him. He is always with us even when we don’t see Him. He is always on the road with us, even when we think we are alone. He is always the Light, even in the darkest night of our souls. 

It is true, the Lord has risen. He has risen, indeed!

Do I Need A Lot of Money?

At our family Easter dinner I sat with our nephew, Tyler, a 19 year-old young man full of the joy of youth and the blessing of a tender heart. As part of our conversation, I asked him about his professional plans for the future (what else would a college professor ask about, right?) I listened to him elaborate about his options and alternatives. At the end he wrapped it up with a statement that has stayed with me since. He said, “I don’t need a lot of money to be happy.” 

My first reaction when I heard Ty said that was laughter. I remember I told him, “well, just be very careful who you choose as your wife because she may not feel the same way.” WOW! how profound…of all the things I could have said, that’s what I came up with…

Today I realize that the reason I said that was because of me. I thought of myself and how I would not have chosen a husband who would think that way. The hypothetical “future wife” that came to mind was a woman who would think like me, and who would value the same things I value. I was thinking of a woman who, like me, would value more the material world than the precious heart of a good, godly man. Yeah…I feel convicted to say the least.

There are countless passages in the Bible about the poor and the rich. In all of them, it is the rich who comes out at the bottom. I have been thinking about this, and I see that in the Bible, the poor many times refers to those who are indeed hungry for the Lord. Therefore, they are those who long for the spiritual riches that only God can provide. Their hunger can only be satisfied by a Spirit that overflows their soul, and ultimately, by being in the presence of the Most High in Heaven. The poor are those who live by the Spirit.

The rich are those who live by the material world and whose only pursuit is that of wealth and worldly living. Whereas being “poor” or a person who lives by the Spirit leads to a life free from the snares of money, being “rich” or a person who lives by the material world only leads to slavery. The rich are enslaved to a pursuit of things that can never satisfy. The riches they are after can never fill their souls because our souls are spiritual and meant to be filled by God. Therefore, chasing after the world only leaves them wanting more. Their reward is on earth and they don’t go joyfully to the grave. They go with resentment for they never surrendered their journey to He who is in charge. Not only that, but they live their lives away from faith and easily fall in the path of evil and misery, like we read in 1 Timothy 6: 10

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Today, as I meditate on my nephew’s statement, I realize how my own desire for the material has warped my vision and my ability to appreciate the simplicity of contentment. I praise God for him and I pray He will guide Ty as he pursues what really matters...

But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called. First Timothy 6: 11-12a

Whole Hearted Home and Little R and R

Changing Perspectives

Easter was just a couple of days ago. The day we celebrate Our Risen Lord was a beautiful day here on our neck of the woods. We had the pleasure of hosting our family for a great dinner and some fun time. 

Besides a day to enjoy our family, Easter was also a day to realize the blessings in our lives. It was a day to consider or reconsider, rather, the way I go about my days. It was a day to realize that I usually worry too much about what I lack and forget to be thankful for what I do have. I caught myself complaining in my mind about all the stuff I needed to do, and the things I needed to get, and the work I needed to finish, rather than sitting back and appreciating all that I had done already.

I went through my long “to do” list and my eyes immediately went to the items not crossed out. Right away I became anxious and worried. After a few seconds, however, my eyes drifted to the things that I had checked off the list already and as I pulled away, I saw, very clearly that there were definitively more things that I had accomplished than those still to do…

Then, at that moment, I got it…that is how I live my life. I live my life constantly worrying about the negative. I worry about what I have not finished, and forget what I have completed. I worry about what I don’t have and ignore what I do have. I worry about the “what ifs,” and take for granted my reality. I worry about the problems and pay no attention to the blessings.

I don’t want to live like that anymore. I am tired of worrying. I really am. 

I don’t want the peace that a completed “to do” list will bring. I don’t want the peace that a test result may offer. I don’t want the peace that material things may provide. They are all temporary fixes. I want a peace that lasts.

I want the peace that transcends all understanding. I want peace like a river. I want the permanent peace that only His presence can afford. 

How do I get that? Trust and surrender are key but also a change of perspective is needed. I need to change my perspective from a negative-oriented vision, to a focus on the blessings. I want to have the love and discipline to thank Him for what He has given me, and trust Him for what I lack. I want to make sure I appreciate all that He has done for me, and surrender the rest. I want to let Him be God and in the meantime, just be still.

At the end of the day, after the family was gone and it was just us home, my older son, Grant asked us when we could have the family over again for another holiday. We said, as soon as possible!

It was truly a wonderful day, and I want to make sure I thank the Lord for it, a true reminder of His infinite love for us, back then as He hung on the cross, as well as today, as He hangs out in His throne.

Praise the Lord, my soul;

all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

Praise the Lord, my soul,

and forget not all his benefits—

who forgives all your sins

and heals all your diseases,

who redeems your life from the pit

and crowns you with love and compassion,

who satisfies your desires with good things

so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. Psalm 103: 1-5

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3: 16

The ultimate expression of love…that’s what makes today a Good Friday.

We remember what Jesus did for us, and we humbly praise Him for His sacrifice…His completely undeserving gift…

… God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5: 8

As we contemplate the cross today, let’s remember He did this for us…He did it for me…He thought of me, and you as He hung on the tree.

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

When I survey the wond'rous cross on which the Prince of Glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss and pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, save in the death of Christ my God;
All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to His blood.

See, from His head, His hands, His feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down;
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet, or thorns compose so rich a crown.

Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.

Demands my soul, my life, my all. Love so amazing demands my all.

He Did It First

Jesus took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. John 13: 4

The very familiar scene for all Christians comes to our minds and hearts once again today as we commemorate Maundy Thursday. The Lord of all lords and King of all kings…the Creator and Sustainer of life, takes the lowest position at His dinner party. The reason? To set an example for His followers…

“Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. John 13: 13-17

He knew that His disciples would have no clue as to why He washed their feet. He knew they thought He was out of His mind for putting Himself at the level of a slave or a lowly servant. That is exactly, however, what Jesus wants us to emulate. He wants us to be servants. But, unlike any other earthly master, He would not ask us to do anything He would not do Himself. As the greatest of Teachers, He models the lessons Himself first. Therefore, He demonstrates what He requires us to become, by becoming it Himself first. And the demonstration didn’t end with the washing of the feet. He also shows us that the journey of the Christian life leads to Calvary… 

…and it all rests on love. The service He wants from us is the service inspired by the kind of love that He displays for us on the Cross. The love that is Him, for He is Love and without Him we would not know what love really is.

We love because He first loved us. 1 John 4: 19

When we are in the midst of the difficulties of Christianity, let’s remember…Our Master, Our Lord, Our King, Our Teacher did it first…