Exiled in Babylon

I never set out to become an idol worshiper. There was no golden calf. No calculated attempt to usurp my Heavenly Father. It was that slow, quiet creeping in and taking over that did me in. I allowed another human being to become more important to me than my Savior. I planned my days, my months, my life around this person. And as human beings are apt to do -- intentionally or not -- he ultimately failed me. He disappointed. He abandoned me. He could not be my god. He was soon replaced by another. Another who, like his predecessor, could not fill the void. And one day he, too, left me. After spending several years chasing shadows, the Almighty's whispers were all but drowned out by the enemy's lies. I felt myself lonely. Devastated. Hopeless. I had left my first love and found myself in spiritual exile.

My Babylon was no where near as trying as that of the Israelites', but there was common ground. There is common ground. There was and is still hope for those who earnestly seek Him. The enemy will tell us there isn't. He will say that God has left us. That we have been abandoned by our King. That there is no reason not to succumb to the culture of our captors and spend our days flitting from one fleshly distraction to another. But it is a lie. Just as Jeremiah came to the Israelites and gave them a message of hope, our Savior has done the same for us.

^"This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.” Jeremiah 29:10-14

^"What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:31-39

In my rebellion, I succumbed to the enemy's lies. And when the idols I'd recklessly followed failed me, I felt all was lost. Tomorrow marks eleven years since I threw in the towel, swallowed a bunch of pills, and gave it all up as lost. Tomorrow also marks eleven years since God snatched me out of captivity and affirmed that He does, indeed, have plans for me. Plans for hope. Plans for a future. Plans for His Kingdom. My life was not over. He was not done with me. I don't have all the details. I must rely on Him for those in His timing. And I still struggle from time to time with things and people that compete with God for my heart -- some of them very good things in and of themselves (but anything that replaces Him as our utmost priority -- where our thoughts, time, money are devoted -- is an idol). But nothing, nothing can ever separate me from the love of God, in Christ Jesus my Lord.

And the same goes for you. Will you seek Him?

Love Never Fails

 

Yesterday I wandered through Fred Meyer as they set up their seasonal floor area with buckets upon buckets of fresh flowers adjacent to aisles of chocolate and every sweet thing imaginable. It was the calm before the storm. I can imagine the madness today as folks sift through a dwindling card selection, frantically  trying to avoid the icy stare and cold shoulder at home that may result from coming  home empty handed on this fabulous made up holiday. We've arrived, folks. Welcome to the day of Love.

But between the panicked and the head over heels crowds, there is another group of folks who bemoan this day's existence. While some single people are entirely indifferent to the commercialized madness of a day devoted to "love" (or are just looking forward to the candy clearance that follows it ... ahem), others find it to be a cruel reminder of their relationship status. Heartbroken. Divorced. Widowed. Waiting on Mr. or Ms. Right, wondering if he or she will ever show up.

The funny thing is that love by our human standards is not all chocolates and roses. Sure, dating is fun. Getting engaged is exciting. The wedding is ... well, stressful ... but magical, sure. But marriage? The aftermath of all that romance and excitement? Folks, marriage is HARD. It is absolutely joyous at times, but it truly can feel like you're being put through the wringer at others. Holding steady on that course in times of difficulty (financial hardship, raising kids, illness, raising kids ... etc.) is a rough road to travel, and one that many folks diverge from in an age when divorce is so commonplace and almost expected. Human "love" fails. It disappoints. It falls short of our expectations.

So. In light of the fact that we haven't quite got this love thing figured out, what if we chose to to spend this love-crazed holiday focusing not on our human approximation of "love," but rather on true love (I definitely just said that to myself in the priest's voice from "The Princess Bride," but I digress ... ). I'm not talking "once upon a time ... " love. I'm talking about the real, unconditional, unfathomable love of God. The kind of love that proves out every time in patience, selflessness, sacrifice .... the kind of love that never fails. Love and its importance are defined for us in one of Paul's letters to the church at Corinth:

"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.  

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.Love never fails."

I Corinthians 13:1-8

So. Quick self-assessment. Completely confidential. Between you and God. How does your love rate against what scripture says love is? Yeah. My score sheet doesn't look so hot either.

And that's for the people I truly say I love or with whom I am in love. What about everyone else? Biblical love isn't a "Be my Valentine," invitation only affair. Nope. We don't get off the hook that easily.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

John 13:34-35

"As I have loved you .... " A tall order when it comes straight from the mouth of the Savior. You really want a holiday to celebrate love? Try Easter. Not the big bunny with floppy ears and colorful eggs (and more clearance priced candy) variety. The "I love you so much that, even in the face of your abuse and neglect and rebelliousness, I will take on the punishment intended for you" variety. Jesus wasn't interested in love that demanded "fairness" or reciprocation. His love had no conditions. It was about who He was and the Father He served, not about our worthiness as the objects of that love. But that's what our version of love tends to be about, isn't it? It's something about the other person that makes us love them or invokes kindness.

So what happens when the other person doesn't "deserve" that kind of "earned" love? How many times have you responded with harsh words or a dirty look (or a scathing social media post ... !!) when someone has been rude or lashed out at you? How might responding instead in love ... God-derived, REAL love ... change that person over time? We may never know if we continue to do what the world expects of us. Returning kind for kind. But we're called to be different, set apart. Sometimes we cannot muster the strength on our own (there are days when its hard even in our own families), but praying for God to give us His love for others will change not only our own hearts, but the lives of those around us as well as He works through us. Be the channel through which His love flows rather than trying to be the source, and the glory will rest in its proper place. 

So this Valentine's Day, by all means, get your sweetheart some flowers and go out to dinner. Buy that clearance candy. But try to focus on celebrating real love this day -- and every day -- by exuding a love that touches every person you come into contact with. Be free in giving out smiles and a friendly "Good morning!" to strangers. Hold doors open. Help a stranger (or a sibling ... eek!) clean up a mess. Speak life into people's lives, not condemnation. Give the benefit of doubt. Discipline your kids in love, not anger (because love isn't the same as enabling poor choices and behavior, see Hebrews 12:6 and about half of the book of Proverbs). Be an encouragement, not a critic. Choose love. Godly love. True love. And live it. Every day. Every day can be a celebration of love if we choose it.