I have never been one for the self-help books. The \u201c10 Days to a Better You\u201d and \u201cHow to Love Yourself Without Losing Yourself\u201d kinds of books make me feel like someone\u2019s about to rap on my door and try to sell me something. I don\u2019t like being talked at. I don\u2019t like the salesman approach to life. So when I think about how to love God and myself and love other people better, I think about how I would talk to my kids.<\/p>\n
Love is action. I mean, obviously. We know this. Of course we know this. But love can turn into such a platitude, can\u2019t it? It\u2019s big and basic like a loaf of bread or the make of your car. But when I think about the relationship between God and Jesus, action<\/em> is the only way it makes sense. Jesus told the disciples before the resurrection that He was Himself and also God (or tried to tell them\u2026you know how that goes). Anything Jesus says, God says. Anything God does, Jesus does. They continually love each other, which is why Jesus yells the gut-wrenching cry of the forsaken as He dies, alone, aloft, inanimate. This is the moment the love retreats. Because it had to. It had to for us. This is the most telling example of love in action. In Mere Christianity<\/em>, C.S. Lewis writes,<\/p>\n All sorts of people are fond of repeating the Christian statement that \u2018God is love\u2019. But they seem not to notice that the words \u2018God is love\u2019 have no real meaning unless God contains at least two Persons\u2026And that, by the way, is perhaps the most important difference between Christianity and all other religions: that in Christianity God is not a static thing\u2014not even a person\u2014but a dynamic, pulsating activity, a life, almost a kind of drama. Almost, if you will not think me irreverent, a kind of dance.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This is what makes the relationship between God and Jesus a dazzling display of affection. It is<\/em> a dance and we are invited to join. They are continually pulling us into the chorus line, the tango, the fox trot. And it shifts. What is required of us to both show and feel love in changes from moment to moment.<\/p>\n Let God and Jesus take your hands and walk you onto the floor. Listen to that music cue up. Feel the rhythm in your pulse and let it lead you to action so that your words take on the weight of reality.<\/p>\nLet love never be a platitude.<\/h1>\n
Sunday Thoughts Link Up!<\/strong><\/h1>\n
It’s time for another Sunday Thoughts Link-Up! I know there are many out there with wisdom that could encourage all of us. As long as it’s faith-based, I’d love for you to join up and then read and comment on what others have shared. Please also leave a comment here. Think of this as a Sunday morning community group that comes to you. And grab the button if you like…<\/strong><\/h3>\n