“What makes the temptation of power so seemingly irresistible? Maybe it is that power offers an easy substitute for the hard task of love. It seems easier to be God than to love God, easier to control people than to love people, easier to own life than to love life.” - Henri Nouwen
We are in a hurry, but love is patient and kind.
We to possess and consume, but love does not envy or boast.
We want authority and ownership, but love is not arrogant or rude.
We force our own agenda, but love does not insist on its own way.
We are upset when our needs go unmet, but love is not irritable or resentful.
We glory in the failure of others, but love does not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.
Love bears all things,
believes all things,
hopes all things,
endures all things.
Love never ends (1 Corinthians 13:4-8).
Power creates distance, but love moves near.
Power protects, but love invites vulnerability.
If the watching world is to know us by our love for one another, we must first know that we love because God has first loved us (John 13:35, 1 John 4:19).
God we thank You that You have first loved us. That Your love moved near us in and through the person and work of Jesus Christ. May we be known by our love as we love You and others. In Jesus name, amen.
For love,
AB