Love never ends, Paul writes to the church in Corinth. He writes other things about love: it is patient and kind. There could be a lot more that is said about love than even Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13.
Indeed, there is a lot more than it is said about love. I’ve been thinking about this more and more as I focus on my relationships. When so much feels broken in the world, love can feel like a platitude, like something that we talk about but don’t really know what it means.
So I find myself wondering about this kind of love that Paul imagines: the kind of love that goes on and on as a source of energy and strength. It is this love that created us and it continues to remake us every time we dare to risk it. It lives in us though we often forget that it is there. Richard Rohr writes, "Love is who you are. When you don't live according to love, you are outside of being. You're not being real. When you love, you are acting according to your deepest being, your deepest truth. You are operating according to your dignity."
I’m curious about this because so many of us doubt God’s love for us. We might be able to believe it for others but we struggle to claim this love for ourselves. We don’t see ourselves created from God’s love but as something separate from all that God has made. Or maybe for you, it’s different question right now that makes you wonder about love’s reach. Maybe you look at the headlines in rhe world right now and wonder if the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was right to claim that “love is ultimately the only answer to [humanity’s} problems.” Here are three wonderings about the power of love.
How do you know you are loved by God and others?
Where can love not go?
What is love teaching you right now?
Take these wanderings into your prayers. Grovel with them on your knees. Fight against them in dance. Sketch a response in the corner of your calendar or let these be the questions you share with a trusted friend on a long walk in a place you both adore. Give space for these questions and every question that emerges from stepping into understanding the joy and frustration of having a body.
I don’t know that love can ever be fully understood and so I’m sharing a short reading list to wonder about love’s power. Love and Salt chronicles letters between friends asking big questions together. The Love of Thousands is written by the amazing Christine Valters Paintner who curates Abbey of the Arts that has long been a spiritual home for me. This is one of her most recent books and expands the reach of love into the ancestors. Thomas Keating is another great one and The Invitation to Love is one of the foundational books about the art of contemplation. Liberating Love sits on my night stand and is a complete and total treasure for those of us that doubt God’s love and need a reminder. All of these books can be found here on Bookshop.
To nudge the spirit along, I’ll share my wandering thoughts in response to these big questions. I hope you’ll wonderings and questions in the comments. I’ll be eager to hear how you are coming to understand the vastness of love’s possibility.
How do you know you are loved by God and others?
I know I am loved when my husband touches the small of my back when I am cooking dinner. I know that I am loved when my 4 year old nuzzles into my neck when she needs comfort and somehow everything make sense. I feel like I have a purpose and still can’t believe I’m so lucky to experience this rare gift. I know I am loved because my parents are annoyed that I don’t call more often and it reminds me that God is just as impatient with my prayers. More often than not, I don’t feel worthy of all of this love but I am constantly surprised by its appearance. I cannot talk my way out of it. It keeps coming and reminding me that love doesn’t end.
Where can love not go?
There is no love in hate. They are opposing forces but I do not think that love exists outside of the forces of hate. That surprising force that insists on love for me has to reach to other places that are even less worthy of love. Go love. Go to the bigot and racist. Go to the homophobe and the nationalist. Go where it seems that you have no business in being and cast out all fear. Make yourself fully known.
What is love teaching you right now?
Love is teaching me to be open to all that feels unknown and try as hard as I can to be present. This is not easy for me but I hope I’m teachable. I’m finding that love needs to remind me about that never ending bit with some frequency. I need the reminder that there is love in everything and that love is actually a force.
Be further inspired by the
in this collaborative project. What might Love have to say to you today?
If you find yourself doubting that there is enough love for you in this world and it feels like spiritual direction might be a way to explore those desires, I hope you’ll reach out to begin a conversation.
