a publication of central community church online at www ... - Clover

“I don’t love
you, but I
always will.”
(lyric from “Poison and Wine” by Civil Wars)
Recently my daughter introduced
me to this haunting song about the
beautiful and painful paradox that love
can be. We all have felt the euphoric
sensation that love offers, and we
all have tasted the bitterness of love
rejected. As I listened to the lyrics,
I was reminded of the real, and raw
challenge of loving people who don’t
always reciprocate that love, or treat
us the way they should (I was actually
troubled at how sometimes I am that
other person). Yet God has called us to
love unconditionally: to love our family,
10 THE LOOP - A MAGAZINE OF CENTRAL COMMUNITY CHURCH
ThE big
PicTuRE
iNFEcTiouS
liviNg
we value people without expecting
anything in return
bill MArKhAM: leAd PAstor
friends, and community without reservation
or stipulation.
In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul
instructs followers of Jesus on how to
love in a world that is often loveless. He
reminds them that they are different,
not because of the clothes they wear,
the places they go, or the things that
they do or don’t do, rather, followers
of Jesus are supposed to be different
because they love everyone unconditionally,
even their enemies.
I got to thinking about what would happen
in the Niagara Region if we were
completely committed to this concept.
What would change if we were willing
to love without expecting anything in
return - even when the one we give our
energy to repays us with hurt? This is
not about being a doormat, but rather
about starting a revolution where
we value people. Where we retaliate
with acts of kindness instead of guns.
Where love, instead of selfish ambition,
guides our decisions.
Can you imagine such a world? The
Bible can - it is called the Kingdom
of Heaven! If you have a thesaurus in
your Bible, I encourage you to look up
the term “Kingdom of Heaven” and
read what Jesus had to say about it.
So this month is committed to understanding
what that concept could really
look like. It is about learning to love,
especially when it is painful to do so.
We are hoping to shed the cultural
lie that love is a feeling, and that it
is about “what I get”. Instead, we are
going to learn that loving is rooted in
God’s unconditional love for us, and
that we are merely a reflection of His
love to this world.
I am inviting you on a radical journey
to rediscover the reason you exist!
Photo: justin driedger