Ready to Love
The back door is open onto the screened porch, and I can hear the bell sounds of the wind chime that is hanging above the patio. There are still green leaves on the trees, but these will begin to turn and fall soon. The warmth that is still in the air is becoming shy, and it, too, will give way to chill in another month. The daylight hours are fewer and will become fewer still. Winter is not bearing down just yet, but the inevitability of it weighs.
Even in our cities and towns, there is a measure of preparedness that must be met at the change of season. Water pipes insulated, propane tanks filled, salt and sand put at the ready, heavy socks and winter coats aired and made accessible. Most of us are no longer spending our Summers harvesting fruits and vegetables for preserving, fattening animals for slaughter, or tanning hides for clothing, but there is a memory, deep in our bones, of times long past when survival required hard work, learned skills, and sheer determination.
Change is a constant in our lives, and being prepared for it is crucial. Discipline keeps us ready to move, and love makes us willing. Following Jesus is not for the faint of heart. He is entirely trustworthy and dependable, and He is also quite unpredictable. He doesn’t always do the same thing the same way and so demands our relentless dependability upon Him. He trains us in the discipline of love and so enlarges our capacity to love. Bound to Him, we are free to thrive in Him.
Indeed, as life is ever changing around us, He does not change and does not fail. His love endures forever. We cannot live without Him, and we cannot truly love without Him. Dear One, are you ready for change? Are you firmly rooted and grounded in love? (Ephesians 3:17) Abide in His unfailing love and be ready to act when that love pierces your heart for another. It is His command that we love one another, and this is the perfect law of liberty.
“But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” (James 1:25 ESV)
New Wine – Hillsong worship (Lyrics) – YouTube
Until next week, beloved, stay in His love and be ready to love.