Rev. Cara Scriven, Lead Pastor
This weekend we celebrated Valentine’s Day. It is the day each year when we praise all things love. We give cards and presents like chocolate and flowers and do special things for those that we love. In my house, we don’t really observe this holiday as it is one of my least favorite days. It’s not that I don’t love my spouse or my children, but rather I think love is something we should be striving for and communicating all year long.
I am well aware that not everyone agrees with me. I was reminded of this fact a few summers ago when was talking with one of my neighbors about children and the struggles of raising them. I said something like “It’s hard to love.” My neighbor counter with, “Loving is easy.” In that moment, I knew we understood love to be something very different.
This week I was listening again to Krista Tippett’s interview of Alain de Botton on the On Being podcast. De Botton wrote a famous article for the New York Times called “Why you will Marry the Wrong Person.” De Botton argued in the podcast that books and movies often show us how people fall in love, but they don’t show us the ups and downs of love as couples change jobs, move homes, raise children, and learn more about each other. Loving another person through the ordinary everyday tasks of life together is hard work. It is why I am always amazed at couples who have been together for 50 years or more.
Scripture reminds us that the Way of Christ is the Way of Love—and it’s not easy. We are told that this path is entered through the narrow gate, where few will find their way. It requires us to lose ourselves, to carry our crosses, and give all that we have for the sake of another. In addition, we are called to love not only those that love us, but also our neighbors and our enemies. Love in light of the gospels is not easy. It’s a task that requires strength, perseverance, and commitment.
If loving others was easy, I believe we would live in a very different world. For example, everyone would have healthcare because love would want us to ensure that every person had the medical care they needed. If loving was easy, everyone would have a house to live in and stereotypes of others would not exist. Racism, sexism, homophobia, and classism would not occur because these beliefs are not rooted in love.
Love, in my opinion, is the hardest thing that God asks us to do. What if February 14th became not only the day we celebrated love, but also, the day we reflected on how well we’ve loved others in the last year? As you wonder about love this week, I encourage you to think about these questions:
When has loving others been easy? What made it so?
Over the last year, when have you struggled to love others?
What is one thing you can do today, to love others more fully?
May God’s love for you, fuel your love for others.