A Cliche or a Crucial Truth

Who or what is God? Most groups of people have been asking that question for millennia, and the answers have varied depending on when and where it was being asked.

I know many today very casually and very seriously talk about “God is love.” What a loaded statement and one I’ve been trying to unpack my whole life.

It’s rudimentary and revelatory.

Easy and existential.

Depending on the posture of the one making the statement it could be the result of not wanting to think about the answer or someone speaking from a deep, deep well of experience.

God is love...

Have you ever just sat with that? It’s easy to quickly move on from the statement because we’ve heard it so often. It’s become a cliche, despite its immense gravity.

Unrelenting. Unconditional. Unending.
Love guides, directs, grounds. “Bears, believes, hopes, endures,” to quote 1 Corinthians. It is the only lens through which we can see the world properly.

It compels me to seek God. It leads me to forgive my enemies. It allows me to let go of my desires, wants, needs for the sake of others. It injects purpose into the mundane. It’s the animating energy of all things good.

What does that mean for Monday at work?

I love taking the proverbial truth plane up into the existential clouds, but if we aren’t parachuting back down into the real world with what our hearts and minds are learning, our faith is quite “dead.”

You will undoubtedly be given an opportunity to make a choice today. It might be as simple as letting someone over in traffic or as monumental as making peace with your life’s greatest pain.

“Finally, brothers (and sisters), rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.”