Love Makes Duds

 Love turns the bomb of revenge, retaliation and retribution into a dud. When the bomb of revenge, retaliation and retribution detonates within us, we get damaged or destroyed in the blast. We are at ground zero. We occupy the zone of danger. The recommendation that Jesus makes to love our enemies (Matthew 5:43-48) is made for our benefit not just for the benefit of our enemies. Love is in our self-interest. Love makes sense. Rational creatures refuse to detonate when the fuse is lit. They reject the temptation to explode. They deny themselves - they deny their natural instinct (Matthew 16:24). Christians are duds. We do not want to transmogrify ourselves into the most hideous and miserable of loveless beasts. We are duds because we know that we are within the radius of the blast. We do not want to self-destruct.

Love

Love has two components that can be measured: 1) SCOPE and 2) SIZE. To measure love, data from the answers to two questions are needed. 1) What is the scope of our love? In other words, whom do we love? Is the scope of our love narrow or broad? Whom do we include in and whom do we exclude from the scope of our love? Is our love selfish or sacrificial? 2) What is the size of our payment? Love is not free. It comes at a cost. Love demands a ransom. Are we willing to pay the cost of love? Furthermore, how much are we willing to pay? Is the amount we are willing to pay small or large? Are we generous or parsimonious with our payment?

Absorbing evil and doing good are expensive. Both methods of fixing a broken universe come at a cost. Love is the willingness to pay out of one’s own pocket the cost of absorbing evil or doing good. Love is the energy by which we help our God with the bloody wounds fix our broken universe. Love and love alone enables us to make repairs.

Love is the "grease" that lubricates the wheels of our passage through the Valley of Tears, across the Red Sea of death and into the promised land.

A flat heart, like a flat tire, makes the ride through the Valley of Tears rough. Therefore, the Son of God paid us a visit TO INFLATE OUR DEFLATED HEARTS WITH LOVE. He came to change the tire.

Jesus hung from his Cross to teach us how to hang from our crosses. He clung to love for us, held tight and refused to let go even though we tortured and killed him. He recommends that we do likewise. Therefore, when you hang as Jesus hung, cling as Jesus clung, love as Jesus loved. Hold tight and refuse to let go of love, sufferings invincible foe.