Amore´

AMORE´…

For me the wedding season has begun. Over the next eight weeks I have six weddings scheduled and what makes this so special is that two of the weddings involve septuagenarians. Both brides and grooms-to-be were widowed and when they least expected it, fell in love again.

I wish you could have joined me as I met with each couple…warm smiles, interlocking hands and joyful countenances all of which belie seven plus decades of life’s weathering.

Romantic love is truly a remarkable thing. It can command an old soul, “Be young again!” and miraculously the soul’s wrinkles fade away. And yet, as remarkable as it is, it pales by comparison to the love that springs from the heart of Christ. His love doesn’t just reconstruct youthful beauty; it is Beauty itself. His love can cleanse the conscience of sin’s guilt, sweep away bitterness, heal hurts, instill purpose and create an inner serenity so deep and immovable that it’s described in the Bible as passing understanding. Maybe this is why I cringe when I hear cynics angrily accuse Christians of trying to “foist” their faith on others. Christians, at least those committed to Christ and not just Christianity, aren’t foisting anything on anyone. They’re simply sharing the wealth.

So unique is the love of Christ that it has its own descriptive word in the Bible, agape. It’s a love so transforming that it can cause a person to lay down his or her life for the wellbeing of another, even if that other happens to be an adversary. Again, cynics see this as ludicrous. Christians on the other hand, see it as the centerpiece of God’s wisdom.

So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him…1 John 4:16

Love and blessings,

David