The Love Fix
How much love will you get today?
Now I don't mean physical love; physical love may be deep and personal, a way to connect and show true intimacy, but it is not the kind of love we can or should show for each other.
I mean the kind of love that transforms the soul, a love fix.
The end of all things is near; therefore be serious and discipline yourselves for the sake of your prayers. Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins. - 1 Peter 4:7-8
Peter tells the followers of Jesus that love can cover a multitude of sins. What does he mean by that?
I was talking with someone yesterday who gave me a glimpse of what that might mean.
He told me that he was tired of how he has been living and wants to make a change. He wants to go to school and make something of his life.
What changed to make him want to change?
He has someone in his life who loves him, and that makes all the difference. She can be tough, he told me. She keeps him motivated to make something of himself.
We all have the power she has to change people, if they are willing to be changed, and if the love we share with them is real. If we can find a way to be there for them without letting them use us, which often happens, together we can do amazing things.
In all Jesus' encounters, wanting the change was critical to healing. If the person was faithful to his or her desire to change and be made well, a miracle happened.
Love can fix what is broken, but not unless it is both given and received back.
It is our conduit to health and life, a life in the Spirit.
Love makes us vulnerable, and yet it strengthens us. It is the fix we all need to set us right with each other.
So, go, he said, and love one another as I have loved you.
More to come...