What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like.
~Augustine
Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and He said to His disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” And taking with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, He began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then He said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with Me.” And going a little farther He fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And He said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again, for the second time, He went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, Your will be done.” And again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So, leaving them again, He went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. Then He came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, My betrayer is at hand.
~ Jesus, King of The Universe – and Man of Sorrows – in Matthew 26
Oh beloved, it is true. We can be hurt. Actually, to be a person who Loves, is to guarantee that we will hurt. We enter into our newfound faith thinking that this is going to be wonderful (and it is), but we have no idea how bloody and beat up we are to become on the path.
In our better moments, though often far in between the normal rhythms of our lives, we have learned to be profoundly concerned for the wellbeing of those around us. We have learned to Love. And while we know, really know, that Love just loves regardless of the return it gets, we often come to a place of great sorrow and grief.
It pummels us with its waves. We are knocked down on the floor, and the grief chokes us.
This fool of a writer has learned how Love. i am not good at it, and still i am learning. And what i have learned in the Loving is that most people have not. And those who have not learned what Love really is, cannot even begin to believe that Love is truly possible. So, they will look upon one who Loves and project their own motives and strategies onto who the lover is and what their Love does.
The difficulty comes closest in, when those closest to us do not or will not understand. And it is here that the punches actually take the air out of us. The very people we are hoping to lift by our Love, feel oppressed by it. And instead of receiving it, they lash out. And as much as we would hope to be noble and keep some sort of British stiff upper lip, we are nearly done in.
Beyond relationships, as Lovers of Him and others, our comfort with the physical realm becomes tenuous to the point of nervousness. There is within, sometimes, a dull ache. We long for Home. And for some of us we don’t even know where that is… At least we don’t know where it is on this planet. The great joy of being a believer in Jesus, and in being an international worker is that The Kingdom is not just an idea – it is Home. We ache for it. We moan in our sleep, and toss in our bed for it.
Where is this entry going? It is going where all sorrow takes us. It is taking us down to the end of a path that has no outlet. Sorrow takes us to the end of ourselves. We are made to feel the utter futility of existence apart from G_d. We are left gasping on the floor of our souls and find there really is no hope in this life.
And no, this obviously not the end.
We come to realize in our knocked down state, that SomeOne is right there with us. His strong Hand and sweet Breath is breathing life into us. We are in a dark valley for sure sometimes, but He goes into it with us. He feels the pain with us. He has been in the pain Himself.
And this is enough. To be known in our grief – this is enough.
So, are you hurting believer? This is normal. But what is not normal is for you (or this writer) to feel alone and despondent. No, it is in the dark valleys of shadow and grief, that our King is most really with us. His very Spirit is Comfort and Healing and Strength.
Tonight is your night. Time to let the hurt have its way… Let it show you He is with you always.
