And the Greatest of These is Love

There is a question I’ve heard asked that I always dread, “What is God doing in your life today?” Most days, I don’t have an answer. There have been seasons in my life of incredible growth and many very dry spells when I am either standing still, or worse - circling the drain. When you are caught in that vortex, you are helpless to save yourself. You plead with God to make it stop but He doesn’t seem to answer. The spiral continues. Faith gives way to doubt. Hope evaporates. There are so many situations in life that are truly tragic and in many ways hopeless and they raise legitimate questions. When I was planning my wedding many years ago, there were countless decisions to make and I generally labored over each one as if it mattered a great deal. But one I approached very casually for reasons I don’t really know. On the front of our invitation, we put “…And the greatest of these is love.” 1 Cor. 13. I had never seen it used before and it didn’t have any real significance to me but it seemed appropriate enough and I went with it without much thought. I’ve been considering that verse much more carefully lately and it has taken on new meaning. “And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” I’ve spent the last decade building organizations and ministries – places to serve God and find community. In all of my building, I have managed to acquire a great deal of acceptance and approval and sometimes I wonder how much of my identity is based in that approval. Without question, I have been blessed with many friends whose love for me is not predicated on anything I bring to the table. They accept me as me. Yet, as it has become attainable, I have reached for more and more approval from an ever broadening community. If I could store up approval for a rainy day, I would have a lasting supply, but what I have realized is that you can’t. It is all cause and effect. Today, I will reap what I have sewn, but like manna, approval is only good for today. Tomorrow, I will have to start over. It never ends. Just like beauty, success if fleeting. It will fade. If you base your identity on either, you are going to find yourself too often circling the drain. Don’t ask me how I know. Which brings me back to that verse in 1 Cor 13. On great days, I have great faith but when tragedy strikes, I have great doubt. Hope is just as fickle outside of eternity. But love is the constant. I am blessed with love from many sources but the most amazing love of all is the love that we have to approach with empty hands. We cannot question the motive of a love that comes to us when we have nothing to offer. We cannot earn it so there is no striving. It is the same love that God gave 2000 years ago in the form of a baby who would grow up to make the ultimate sacrifice for love. It is still ours today, and we cannot only receive it but we can give it. God has given me a love for certain individuals for which I have no explanation. And God has given me love through individuals to whom I have nothing to offer. It is sometimes hard to accept a love that we have no means to compensate but that is love in its purest form. That is God’s love. It is an odd thing because it should be easy to surrender the struggle on the altar of a love that asks for nothing in return but surrender is never easy. This year, I have wrestled with accepting God’s provision of love from a rather unconventional source but I am in awe that God would choose to demonstrate His love to me in the midst of my striving and my doubt. I didn’t think there could ever be a lyricist that could echo my heart’s cry better than Mark Hall of Casting Crowns. He has put my deepest thoughts to music many times. But I have found a new kindred spirit in Mike Donehey of Tenth Avenue North. This isn’t my favorite of his but it is what God is doing in my life today. I Have This Hope Music Video