All Our Love
Many who read or know the bible, hear the Word literally, while others hear the Word intuitively or even interpretively. I’ve come to believe that nobody is all right or all wrong and these differences are by no means an excuse for discourse. The importance is in the acceptance of The Living Word as our connection and guide to the Lord’s everlasting love and wisdom. Some learn through memorization, while others, who can’t quote chapter and verse, grasp the overarching theory and principles, making the integration of the teachings into their daily living easier. Applying God’s truth to our lives is the most important take-away. The bible is not a lecture series, it was never meant for objective, indifferent observations and discussion. With these brief articles, no attempt is being made to teach the bible, that is the work of the Holy Spirit. All that we hope to accomplish here is to raise awareness, to help uncover the wisdom, and to display the amazing, colorful beauty inherent to God and His creations.
I find it interesting, remarkable really, that all descriptions of God in the bible are esoteric, yet interpretive. There are no physical descriptions of Jesus which might cause us to stereotype the Lord according to our comfortable presets. God creates each of us individually. Each with different skills and gifts. Each with a unique appearance. He allows each of us to record life according to our abilities, com-parables and perceptions, while all the time guiding us toward His purpose. We are given one universal concept to consider, debate, test, squeeze and demystify, but one we’ll never fully define … Love.
The rainbow colors of God reveal His love. Love includes the full range of His temperament, textures and tenacity. God is the patient, understanding, judging yet forgiving face of love. To the rest of us love is reactive, enticing, worthwhile and essential. To live a life absent of any love, would be unfathomable, so God is the primary source of love for all of life. The same life that only God could create. We are His, and we should seek to understand Him, and apply His wisdom in our lives. We should also know Him, for to really know Him, is to fully love Him, unconditionally as He loves us. Love originates in the very center of the soul. No matter how you read the bible, as Jesus tells us in Mark 12:30, the most important lesson is to: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength“. What else is left? That’s pretty clear for any Christian learning style.
JC Calkins with COMMON SENSE 4 UNCOMMON PEOPLE - Image by SC Johnson
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