We may be made for love and life may begin for us in that way, but life will offer us different lessons too and we will have to relearn how to be lovers at every stage of our lives. Faith at its best is an ingredient in this lesson. Once we understand that God has no interest in punishment, but only in healing and welcoming, then we can forgive ourselves for being learners. Once, we accept that our true nature and purpose has nothing to do with worldly success and everything to do with delighting in being alive, part of the Holy, part of creation, then we can be Christlike: transformational, spirit and flesh, loving and being loved.
Love is not a feeling so much as the relationship amongst all the participants in creation. It is not sentimental so much as tensile, resilient, alive. I sometimes think of love as a dance in which everyone is a partner. There are no formal steps to the music but everyone seems to figure out how to blend into the rhythm. Those who cannot hear, feel the music through their bodies. Those who cannot see find themselves held in the dance by others. And those who have trouble with mobility find themselves swept up by the movement of the group. The dance only requires a willingness, not a skill. And the dance is the dance of life, the green shoots in the spring, the swirl of autumn leaves, the warmth of summer sun, and the crisp bite of winter. Love binds all of creation together. We are never alone. When we understand that this is reality, we can adjust our awareness, attune our souls, or we can pull away, but even the resistance becomes absorbed into what is.
To trust in this cosmic love that was the way of life for Jesus — his truth — will set us free to be lovers, too: to delight in life, to be artists of restoration and healing. We will be hospitable, not out of duty, but from a deep urgency in sharing blessings. It is shalom in Hebrew, being at home with the Holy around us and within.
Of course perfect love reduces fear and judgement, which are human constructs and insecurities. Living as the people of the Resurrection we know that there is only life and ultimately love. That is the beginning, the journey and the ending. This is God.
Of course perfect love reduces fear and judgement, which are human constructs and insecurities. Living as the people of the Resurrection we know that there is only life and ultimately love. That is the beginning, the journey and the ending. This is God.