I wrote this a few days ago but didn’t post it because it doesn’t feel finished. Then it came up in discussion today from a teammate and I recognized my cue to put it out there. For your deliberation and consideration:
We love because He first loved us. (1 John 4:19)
If we love simply and solely because we are already loved by God, then we can love openly and without fear. We only need to fear loving others if we are seeking something from them in return: love, acceptance, validation, elevation, praise, recognition. But if we love others only for what they give us in return, then we aren’t loving them, we’re using them. So perfect love can be fearless. (1 John 4:18) You’re loving someone simply because of who they are, not what you get from them or what they can do for you.
I don’t know what that looks like on a day-to-day basis with imperfect people. People can be selfish, ignorant, even malicious, and they can hurt us. But the ideal and the hope is that perfect love casts out the fear of loving imperfect people.
“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” 1 Cor 3:4-8
Love is a complicated subject. There are categories, exceptions, recommendations, and risks. This blog doesn’t scratch the surface. I have 7 more months in the Race and then a lifetime to learn about God’s love and love for one another. It isn’t a finished thought but it’s a finished start.
