without even realizing, God has been constantly drawing my attention to Love; of what it means to love with the truth, to love deeply and fearlessly. my recent journal entries - they're all about love. the season of conflict that i've come out of made me realize that love conquers all. during one of the nights' prayer and praise session, Wendy gave an invitation for anyone of us to share about whatever that God had impressed upon our hearts and every single person who shared, shared about - yep, you guessed it - LOVE. the one and only constant recurring theme. sharing after sharing after sharing. LOVE. FAMILY. UNITY. COMMUNITY. LOVE.
need i say more?
to love deeply and freely, to let love bind this family together, to realize that there should be no half measure in loving.
"if i speak in tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, i am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 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 have not love, i am nothing. if i give all i possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, i gain nothing." - 1 cor 13:1-3.
Rudy shared:
"therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. forgive as the Lord forgave you. and over all these virtues put on LOVE, which binds them all together in perfect UNITY. let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body yuo were called to peace. and be thankful. and let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. and whatever you do, whether in word or deedm do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." - col:3:12-17
having had disagreements before, i'm reminded again of luke 7:47 - "for her many sins were forgiven -- for she loved much. but he who has been forgiven little, loves little."
this quote is more often than not, misquoted as: he who forgives much, loves much. he who forgives little, loves little. much as this quote is not wrong, it's important to remember the value and the meaning of forgiveness that is first given by God. we can love because God first loved us; and because of His love for us, He FORGIVES us of our sins. therefore we experience the power of His redeeming grace to in turn, forgive others. even in the word "forgive", much is said. quoting(paraphrased) from Billy Otto: if we break up the word "forgive", it is to "for-give" or "forE-give"; to give beforehand. wow. to FOREGIVE. God FORGAVE us of our sins!
the value of "forgiving" holds a special place in my heart because there's so much power in that. not forgiving can render powerlessness, yet forgiving EMPOWERS. one loves so much more when we're able to forgive, simply because we've come to love people for all their idiosyncrasies, for all their shortcomings, to truly embrace them for who they are. again, it is to see beyond the ugly and persist to see the gold, for love keeps no records of wrongdoings. that, is the perfect standard of God's love; that is how He loves. in Him, our slates are wiped clean, our sins forgiven by His blood and His sacrifice on the Cross. instead, He pursues us out of His Love - we are His Beloved; He gives freely to us the countless second chances to be better.
do we then, offer that second chance to people?
to love God is the very first commandment. it's followed by loving others as ourselves. it ranks above not murdering, not bearing false witness etc. why? why love? what is it about love that it is so powerful and important? Love in Hebrew means "i give". to love is to give. to give of ourselves for others. we can love because God first loved us. God GAVE His Son to die for us. a quote from a website that i stumbled across - "Giving is a condition that creates and sustains love. Without giving, there is no connection that is sustaining." and i absolutely agree. giving is at the core of what it means to love.
even when we choose our friends, do we choose them because they appear better, speak better, present themselves better etc? Jesus came straight for the the people deemed as the lowest of the low; He dined with the lepers, the tax collectors, the harlots. how many times have we been guilty of not reaching out simply because we were afraid of what people would think of us? i know i have. but i think, the key is in trying. loving the less lovely, loving those who are difficult, persisting to unearth the gem in him or her. if not for patient and loving people who chose to commit to nurturing and guiding me all these years, i wouldn't be where i am now - given a second chance. do we choose to love or shun people when they're at their worst? do we persist to love?
choosing to ignore and step away from the person when that happens is so much easier than doing what love demands. if we were to compare both in terms of eternal value, i'd say loving trumps not loving in spite of the hurts that may come with vulnerability. for Love is the greatest these. to be clothed with compassion and not impassion, to love with truth and not superficiality.
to love deeply is to give freely.
have you given today?
***
that You're beckoning me to that quiet place
"to rest in His Love, let God love you."
i first came across that phrase in a note that Shern wrote to me during YMLC. i didn't really get what she meant at first, but more and more, over the past few days, i've come to understand what this phrase means for me. hmm.. prophetic note. haha. (shern, if you're reading this, you're a prophet! heh.)
i remember sitting down on the bed during "cow time" during the retreat, feeling like i needed to write a song. but i had no idea what it should be about. all the words came in chunks, incoherent phrases and whatnots. but as God prompted, it began to crystallize, and the song ultimately came to be about resting in God's love. to come home to God, to run into His arms, it is about us being the prodigal son. we can be Christians for so long, go to church week in, week out, serve in ministry and still feel far from Him, feeling like we don't hear Him anymore. and deep down within, we're crying out to Him to fill us again. sometimes we just don't stop long enough for God to minister, for Him to speak life into our hearts and lives, that He's calling us to REST in His love, to let Him love us, to let Him love me. this song... He intended it for me. i have been the prodigal son (or daughter), i am crying out.
God's been telling me to come away with Him to the quiet place and to rest in His love without distractions. choosing to be at His feet and not running about doing stuff FOR Him, but BEING WITH Him. like a mary vs martha thing. i emailed taupok last night coz he was asking about how i've been doing and all. and i told him that i'm going to sweden. and suddenly it struck me that sweden is an extremely slow-moving place, and that i'll have all the time in the world to bask in that slowness, in the tranquility and quietness of that place. and that God's LITERALLY leading me to be by the quiet waters and green pastures. it's all starting to fall into place now; everything fits now.
i'm going away with God.
rest. i'm looking forward to sweden.
***
I sing over you My song of peace
Come and find your rest in Me
I'll breathe My life inside of you
I'll bear you up on eagle's wings
And hide you in the shadow of My strength
I'll take you to My quiet waters
I'll restore your soul
Come rest in Me and be made whole
You're My beloved
You're My Bride
To sing over you is my delight
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