Love wins.


He drew a circle that shut me out—
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle and took him in!
--Edwin Markham


It makes a soul weary, doesn’t it?

Every night on the evening news, there’s something. Wars of words, wars of power. Fistfights, gunfights. Angry, shouting, red-faced neighbors and friends who suddenly seem transformed into complete strangers.

What is going on in our nation and in the world? We find ourselves caught between the need to be informed—and the desire to remain reasonably sane in the midst of such insanity. And while everyone seems to have an answer, somehow any sort of solution evades our grasp.

Here’s my innocent, naïve take on how we should be living this day: In God’s created order, God did not create other. We are all one family in Christ. Does this mean we all need to agree, all the time? Heavens, no! (How boring would that be?) But it does mean that as in any loving community, God expects us to love one another, just because. You are worthy of Love. So is your neighbor who looks nothing like you, who worships God differently, who loves differently. Look at the world through God’s eyes. You will love what—and who-- you see!

(This week, meditate on verses from the Sermon on the Mount, 
as paraphrased by Eugene Peterson in The Message.)

Monday You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule. Matthew 5:3

Tuesday You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you. Matthew 5:4

Wednesday You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought. Matthew 5:5

Thursday You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat. Matthew 5:6

Friday You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for. Matthew 5:7

Saturday You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world. Matthew 5:8

Sunday You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family. Matthew 5:9

In the end, Love wins.
And if Love isn’t winning, then it’s not the end. –Nathan Hamm

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