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e1'~wrdseA o~ti~
,\)(0 ~l~ loved b~W
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Trying to love aspouse who doesn't love you is torturous. Trying to love a
stepchild who wishes you didn't exist is demoralizing. Trying to love a friend
through abaffling fiasco is exhausting. Human affection can't bear up. We need
aRomans 5:5kind of work.
Thl DtVl\
-\() des,+y~"~
f o v \- \- h
t\opc
I L ove."
The L ord's Message Rang o m
..
What does Romans 5:5 describe? h o w does' r'lO~ ~uJ Us + u sf a .m( b e ~ 4 4 . . r
~\s \out ~ ~-le.-n (J oL !(ed \ n+o ou: \re~~(Otffi + l 1 t ~ t J l ~ ~ P l ( ( t
~\r\\C)) \l\}t~ I V I U'> - ~' U
We have access to the Holy Spirit welling up in us like a spring. TaJ ming into
Him requires deliberation and cooperation so God can love through us. L ike
me, you've probably asked Him to love through you, then fizzled out within the
hour. Here's the catch: we cannot love when we perceive ourselves as unloved.
We cannot offer to others what we don't possess.
J ude 21 says, "Keepyourselves inthe love of God, expecting the mercy of our
L ord jesus Christ." That means practicing the mind set obeing profusely loved
by God. We must invite our souls to plunge into His love like adolphin romping
in the sea. A ctively engaging in His unending, extravagant, no-strings-attached
affection for you is not narcissism. I t's necessity. I t can mean our survival when
we're faced with loving the loveless.
Glance barJ <at today's "Flash-Forward" and fill inthe blanks: your
work of - .th . \tn _, labor of ~e) ,and
~ /ho( L
Consider also 1 Corinthians 13:13, penned by the same apostle, Paul: "Now
these three remain: faith, hope, and love~Those comprise the three abiding pri-
orities and enduring virtues of time and eternity. These facts alone earn each
of them a distinct spot on the Enemy's target. A nything God emphasizes, the
Devil seeks to exterminate.
L et's examine ashort checklist:
A re you ina season where faith feels like hard work? ~o
I s loving laborious? ( Ye SJ No
Is hope cir cl ing t he dr ain as you ke e p l onging and waiting? eo
If you answe r e d ye s t o al l t hr e e que st ions, youIe unde r a t r ipl e t hr e at . Sat an
can't snatch faith, hope, and love from you. Youhave to hand them over.
When spiritual people are down to the dregs, we often grip tighter to what
we have left: our legalism. We fill up the loss with the law. Don't go there. Keep
believing, hoping. and loving. A ll else is just existing.
I recently headed 90 miles west with my oldest daughter's family to spend
the afternoon with alarge group of friends. The folklore began 25years ago when
six families from the same church decided to spend Thanksgiving together and,
to my knowledge, acore group hasn't missed ayear yet. Each time we get to go,
..
Anyt hing God
e mphasize s!
t he De vil se e ks
t o e xt e r minat e .
...
children
ojt he DAY
"
Such is
common
t o man.
22
..
~
we pick up right where we left off and laugh like there's no tomorrow. We have
to live like that, you know. Tomorrow isn't promised.
Wh a t is yo ur current, o ngo ing reminder th a t lif e h ereis tempo ra l?
:lu..\I t- 'riP ~
~yu~:~~~~cJ
I 'll tell you one of m.in~he ringleader of that gregarious pack of thankful
friends is battling brain cancer. Overlooking the severity of his illness would be
easier without asix-inch scar on one side of his shaved head. He also happens
to be hilarious enough to play the cancer card to get his way: "Hey, Beth, can
you cut me abigger piece of that cake? Youknow I have cancer"
A t times we've talked about h is illness with unembarrassed sadness, but
we kept it short that recent day. Too much glad chaos was occurring around us.
We sat in rocking chairs on the front porch. surrounded by our adult children
and watching aflurry of their little ones play tagand chase balls.
A s I looked from face to familiar face, mythoughts drew loops around the
past and present A small encyclopedia oflife experience tucked inmy heart told
me that some of those young couples had troubles and doubts. I knew most of
their stories, and few escaped the scarring licks of ablazing fife growing up. My
daughters didn't escape them, and inno small part, due to their parents. But
this wasn't atime for guilt or blame. I t was atime for beholding. There before
me were the young and the old, the living and the dying, the surviving and the
thriving. What aslice of life, I thought, and I whispered under my breath, Such
is common to man.
But I was wrong. I t hit me later that such is common to r e de e me dman. Had
we been alarge group of unbelievers still bound by legitimate friendship, yes,
we would have comprised afair composite of human life, but our condition in
its midst would have been worlds apart
Faith is agame changer. Know that to ~our bones.
That night alone in my house, aspring of tea rs erupted and rushed over me
like alevee had broken. A sense of sadness over my friend's illness collided with
inexpressible elation and gratitude. Grief and grace rose up within me like two
giant wrestlers stopping long enough to sh a ke hands. Pain and beauty tangled
in abig knot called hope.
I 'm not talking about the theoretical kind of hope. I 'm talking about the
kind that gets you to your next anniversary when it would be easier to give up
now. The kind that gets you through your long season ofloneliness so y.oudon't T
jump into adisastrous marriage on lame legs. The kind that counts on afuture
whether or not the treatment takes. The kind that gets you through a move
when you really want to stay. The kind that grants you something gained after
aterrible loss. The kind that ... well, you f ill inthe blank.
We are not just like everybody else breathing the world's toxic air. Our flight
has been hijacked by hope.

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