Love Above All

“No matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love. Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have. Love doesn’t strut, doesn’t have a swelled head, doesn’t force itself on others, isn’t always ‘me first,’ doesn’t fly off the handle, doesn’t keep score of the sins of others, doesn’t revel when others grovel, takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, puts up with anything, trusts God always, always looks for the best, never looks back, but keeps going to the end. Love never dies....

We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us! But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: TRUST steadily in God, HOPE unswervingly, LOVE extravagantly. And the best of the three is LOVE.”
                                [--1 Corinthians 13:3b-8a,12-13, from THE MESSAGE]

As we share in several sermons on the controversial topic of homosexuality, my prayer and desire is that -- regardless of what we think or believe about this topic -- each of us would allow “extravagant,” sacrificial love to be the guiding principle behind our actions and interactions with others, even if and when we disagree with their beliefs and/or behaviors. And never forget that we’re called to love others because God loves you, and that I do, too!