Wow, what a whirlwind this week was! I didn't get to spend as much time here as I wanted, but I did manage to get my homework done. This week's homework was all about love. We hit eros (sexual love) and phileo (brotherly love), but the main focus was on agape love, the sacrificial, unconditional love that has its source in God's love for us. I so appreciated time spent thinking about what agape love is and isn't. I'm sure lots of us are familiar with the "love chapter" (1 Corinthians 13) and, like me, you might even have had it read at your weddings, but somehow I needed a refresher course.
In my journal I wrote two lists: the negatives (what love isn't or what it doesn't do) and the positives (what love is or does).
The first list includes these: love does not envy, does not boast, is not proud, is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not easily angered, keeps no record of wrongs, does not delight in evil. I don't know about you, but there's a boatload of conviction that comes along with that list!
But then comes the second list: Love is patient, love is kind. Love rejoices with the truth. Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love NEVER FAILS. (Another way to say that is that love is never in vain.)
And I'm reminded of something Beth said in Day 5, "Agape is more a response than a feeling." What is it that we respond to? Where does agape love come from in our lives? It's from the patience, kindness, and truth of Jesus Christ. He always protects, trusts, hopes, and perseveres. His love is not in vain; it conquered death and made us alive in Christ. It's alive and active in us. His love is demonstrated both by what he doesn't do (does not keep a record of wrongs or delight in evil or deal with us harshly or rudely) and by what he does. That's the love that flows in a strong stream from God, and when the Spirit opens the spigot, it floods our hearts and can overflow in demonstrations of love both for God and for those around us.
And that's another word I'm thinking about: demonstrations. How can I SHOW love? How can I demonstrate to others what this love of Christ is and how it works? How can I let people know that I "agape" them? I'm praying for some specific answers; that the Spirit will lead me into action.
What about you? What thoughts did this week's homework inspire in you? What points or passages stuck out to you the most?
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