A couple of years ago, I was struck by one of Stephan Pastis’ “Pearls Before Swine” comic strips. Pig (one of the characters), climbs onto the “Tree Stump O’ Deep Thought You’re Not Usually Capable Of” and says, “No one knows what we’re doing here. Some have faith that they do. But no one knows. So, we are scared. We are alone. And we end. And we don’t know where we go. So, we cling to money for comfort. And we chase awards for immortality. And we hide in the routine of our days. But then the night. Always the night. Which, when it has you alone, whispers that maybe none of this has any significance. So, love everyone you’re with. Because comforting each other on this journey we neither asked for nor understand is the best we can do.”
I’m usually not as pessimistic about life as Pig, but I do believe he’s absolutely right about love; it is the best we can do…and the biblical passage 1 John 4:7-21 agrees with Pig about the primacy of love.
Here’s what strikes me in these verses. John begins by naming his readers. He calls them “Beloved.” He’s expressing his affection for them, but also declaring they are the beloved of God. That is one of the most profound truths about us — God loves us all always.
John, goes on, “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God….” God is the source of all love; a gift we share with others.
Then John says that love is the sign that we have been awakened by God. He says “everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.” The test of whether God has done major renovations in our lives, the test for whether we know God is whether we love.
Our passage goes on, “Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.” “God is love.” That is the most definitive statement about God in the Bible. The main thing we need to know about God is that God is love.
The writer goes on to clarify that love is not primarily a feeling, but something we do. God loved us through an action — sending Jesus, for instance. Love is life-giving action.
John then indicates that loving others is a spiritual practice that moves us deeper into God. “No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.” The way we sustain true and life-giving union with God is not by seeking some mystical vision but by loving one another.
John continues, “Those who abide in love abide in God and God abides in them.” Eugene Peterson chimes in, “When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us.”
One of the remarkable benefits of love is that love undermines the power of fear in our lives and world, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear….” When we accept God’s love for us and then love others, fear will not be able to gain a foothold and dominate our lives.
And finally, John reminds us that we cannot love God without loving our brothers and sisters, “Those who say, ‘I love God,’ and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. Those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.” It isn’t real love for God if it doesn’t include love for people, all people.
In the comic strip, Pig says, “So love everyone you’re with. Because comforting each other on this journey…is the best we can do.” John agrees. Love is absolutely the best thing we can do. Through loving we find God, and imitate God, and find the best life possible.
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June 07, 2021 at 06:41AM
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Love is the best we can do | Clergy Corner - Woodland Daily Democrat
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