Last night, we had a Valentine’s event for the Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship based out of the college campus and it was quite the event. With all the heart streamers and candles and assorted decorations, the leadership of the IVCF hosted a fun little night. It was a fun time to not have it on Valentine’s night because we were able to re-shift the focus from the very beginning. While the topic of this night was “Love”, it was going to focus on the love of God and how that allows us to even begin to understand love.
Sammy is a former IVCF student leader and has stayed involved even though he is nearly 20 years removed from college. Along with his team, he drove 400 kilometers just to speak and share with these students. While that may not seem like the biggest trip in the States, it’s quite the journey out here and looked upon very highly. Sammy helped run the night and brought the message at the end that had a lasting impact on most of the people in the room. He spoke about how God’s love for us is eternal and has nothing to do with us or our response. God is a pursuer and He loved us while we were still sinners, not after we “became righteous”. His love is eternal, and that started before we were ever even alive to make a mistake.
While Tara and I were scheduled to follow, we could tell that we were never going to make it past this message. We were asked to talk about courtship and our relationship and answer questions from the students. However, I’m a true believer that what we were going to talk about was step two in love. We can’t even begin to pursue or love someone else if we don’t know and love God. We can try and maybe even be somewhat “successful” but there’s and element of love that we will never understand. While I know where Tara and I are headed, there’s still so much that He is revealing to me about His love that puts anything I feel for her to shame. I can’t fully love anyone without knowing God’s love.
That was the purpose of the night. Sammy nailed it. Instead of moving on with the program, he just brought his team up and prayed for everyone in the room. I don’t think it was what any of the students were expecting from that night, but it was unavoidable if we’re even going to mention love. Maybe next time we can get to step two…
