Love

Most of us at one point or another have heard that love is not as much a feeling as it is an action or a choice. Although this must be true for anyone to possibly love those different from us, it doesn’t really reveal how we are supposed to make that choice. What I’m learning is that loving others means learning God’s perspective of ourselves and of others. I say learning, instead of, say, adopting, because ultimately we aren’t the ones in control of that perspective. It’s not our own perspective, it’s God’s. He has to teach it to us. Our role is to be willing to learn it. I think it’s very natural for us to be protective about our ideological space, to cut ourselves off from certain types of people because they threaten our beliefs or morals. When our perspectives shift, though, from one that sees people as a threat or a bother, to one that sees them as people with real fears and needs, our treatment of them begins to change. We become willing to drop our guards, to listen. There’s a cool four-line poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning that I think helps illustrate this perspective (which I've quoted before). She says these words:

“Earth’s crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
But only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.”

These words echo a sense of awe that we get from truly knowing the significance of God’s creation, including people. I know only that I need more of that realization, and though I've only seen glimpses now and then, it's hopeful to know that God can do so much good through the person willing to look away from himself for a moment to peer into the lives of the hurting. It's with that spirit of selflessness that Christ changed the world. Work with what you have. That's all God expects. Thanks for reading.