Love....WHAT?

"Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant,
does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails." 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a

This passage is one of the most cliche bible passages of all time. For that reason, I hate quoting it. However, I went to church this morning with my roommate Rebekah (the music minister...exciting!) and the pastor read this as part of his sermon. My automatic reaction was to be turned off to it, but I couldn't help but listen to those all too true words. I listened and enjoyed it as I usually do, because it is an incredible passage of scripture, regardless of how cliche. However, this time the last couple phrases made my head spin. If this passage is a description of what love is, then that last part is crazy. I mean, truly mental. "[Love] bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails..."

WHAT??? I mean, did anyone just get that the way I did? Love bears all things. That means that no matter what someone does to you, if you love them, you bear it. Everything. Cheating, lying, murder, rudeness, manipulation. You bear it. With Love. For Love.

Then it says, "believes all things". I'm sorry, but this means trust that just can't happen. Right? I mean, to believe all things that someone says to you...that's just reckless, right? Idiotic. There's no protection in that statement. That means that whenever someone says they'll do something, we should believe them if we love them. Even if they have never given us cause to believe them. If we love them, we'll believe them. This leaves us so vulnerable. Out in the open. Without our guard walls up.

This next statement's even crazier. If that's even possible. It says, "hopes all things". As if believing everything wasn't enough, we have to hope all things? This goes a step beyond belief, because belief just holds them to what they themselves promised. Hope is past that. Hope is believing they'll do things even when they aren't expected to. Hope is counting for more than the status quo.

Now there's "endures all things". After bearing all things, and believing all things, and hoping all things...there is bound to be disappointment with humans. And so Love calls us to endure all things. To endure the pain. To take what came from the hope and belief. But it doesn't end here...

We are told lastly that "Love never fails". So even though we have to endure much in Love, it doesn't fail us. So there is redemption in that. Which brings me to the most mindblowing part of this whole thing.

Christ is Love.

Which, if we really believe that's true, means that He bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things, and that He never fails. Let me break this down.

He bears all things - which he showed us with His death on the cross for our sin. He bore the wrath of the Father that was intended for us.

He believes all things - which means that He trusts us. He loves us enough to trust us. which was shown when he gave us the responsibility and privilege of being the messengers of His Gospel.

He hopes all things - He hopes that we will be better than our sinful nature. Which again, is shown in the responsibility He has given us, and in the Spirit He has given us to help us to be free from that sin nature.

He endures all things - He has shown us this in the constant, patient, reckless love that He shows us daily, despite all of our sin and our idols. He endured the cross. He endured the wrath of God. And He endures the infidelity of His children.

He never fails - His gospel. His grace. His Love. It doesn't fail. It is the ultimate solution. It is the answer to every question. It is the only thing truly trustworthy and infallible. Hallelujah.

Just had to share that incredible light bulb moment. It was shocking to me.

Man of Sorrows
Man of Sorrows! what a name
For the Son of God, Who came
Ruined sinners to reclaim.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
In my place condemned He stood;
Sealed my pardon with His blood.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Guilty, vile, and helpless we;
Spotless Lamb of God was He;
Full atonement can it be?
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Lifted up was He to die;
"It is finished!" was His cry;
Now in heaven exalted high.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

When He comes, our glorious King,
All His ransomed home to bring,
Then anew His song we'll sing:
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Prayer First?

so this past monday, rebekah and i were on our way to the bcm house. she parked, and i got out of the car. i closed the car door and somehow managed to smash the door on my left thumb. i said "ouch" and looked down and was pretty surprised at the damage. i had successfully managed to crack my thumbnail from top to bottom and take a huge chunk out of the skin. anyways, i went in to the bcm house to get a bandaid and clean the blood off. i was standing at the sink cleaning the blood off with a paper towel when i suddenly felt light headed. i was in the middle of telling rebekah, "i think i need to sit do-" when i passed out.

rebekah tried to catch me on my way down with ken's help, until apparently they managed to get me lying down. i woke up a few seconds or minutes later (i'm not sure how long...i was kinda unconscious) to see people over me saying, "you're gonna be okay", "can you hear me?", and "do you feel nauseated?". i remember dry heaving and then trying to explain that i was fine. i was awkwardly laughing, because i was so embarrassed that i had passed out because i hurt my thumb, and then i passed out again. the thing that i remember most clearly in between fainting spells, however, is my friend clayton praying over me. although i was fine, and it was just my body's ridiculous reaction to pain, it was wonderful to know that someone was praying.

i apparently did something that looked like a seizure (which probably resulted from hyperventilating), and my hands were clenched up when i finally came to again. however, after the EMT's got there and about fifteen minutes, i finally regained some color in my face. i was awkwardly laughing again from embarrassment, and told the EMTs that i was fine and that i didn't need to be driven off to the emergency room. i just needed a few minutes and i'd be fine. they left after a few more minutes, and i went into the meeting and i was fine.

anyways, i tell this ridiculous story for the small detail that doesn't seem to stick out. clayton prayed for me. now granted, i was fine and i wasn't actually having a seizure, but to everyone in the room, that's what it looked like. and interestingly enough, instead of running around looking for someway to help, clayton prayed. and it made me think. why isn't that our first response all of the time? if we believe that the Lord is the ultimate healer, why isn't our first response to pray for illness or emergency, rather than pop some pills or freak out? it was a rather humbling experience for me. as i lay there on the floor of the BCM kitchen, i took in the importance of putting Him first, even in emergencies.

Get It Done Guys...

so this will be short and mostly ridiculous because i have to rant. i've noticed lately that there's been this trend among the guys in our generation (yeah i sound like a grandma right now), where they use the term "hang out". um, i'm sorry for being slow or dull, but what the heck is that supposed to mean? i've mulled over that little annoyance for a few days, and realized something. this could be wrong, and it probably is, since i cannot understand guys for the life of me, but "hanging out" seems like it's a risk-free way of asking someone on a date. if you ask a girl on a date, there are so many things on the line. you are usually expected to pay, and then there are all of the stigmas that go along with a date. if the girl refuses a date, then it's because she isn't interested (unless she reschedules...). if a girl says no to "hanging out" then no harm, no foul right? because with "hanging out", there's no risk involved. if the girl doesn't want to hang out, then it's no biggie, because friends hang out. anyways, i've just been frustrated by the idea of "hanging out". i think it's dumb. if it's in a group setting, then that's fine. but i think i've officially decided that one on one "hang outs" are lame.