#urloved

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
~ 1 Corinthians 13:2

Love is an interesting thing.  From the very moment we begin to talk about love as children, we are told that God loves us.  As we begin to grow older, and we encounter others, even those who may do us harm, we are told that we are to love others as well.

Often we speak about love as if it is a feeling. But if we wait for a feeling of love before loving, we may never learn to love well. The feeling of love is beautiful and life-giving, but our loving cannot be based in that feeling. To love is to think, speak, and act according to the spiritual knowledge that we are infinitely loved by God and called to make that love visible in this world.

Mostly we know what the loving thing to do is. When we "do" love, even if others are not able to respond with love, we will discover that our feelings catch up with our acts.

How do we know that we are infinitely loved by God when our immediate surroundings keep telling us that we'd better prove our right to exist?

I have a dear friend, Pastor Jeffrey Campbell, who each day posts a simple hashtag, #urloved.  Many times it is among the first things that I read in the morning, and it serves as a reminder that love exists, and that I am somehow part of that love.

The knowledge of being loved in an unconditional way, before the world presents us with its conditions, cannot come from books, lectures, television programs, or workshops. This spiritual knowledge comes from people who witness to God's love for us through their words and deeds. These people can be close to us but they can also live far away or may even have lived long ago. Their witness announces the truth of God's love and calls us to act in accordance with it.

God is love, and you are loved.  Stay in God's grip!

G. Todd Williams (c) 2019