Love is the most powerful weapon that we have as followers of Jesus. It isn’t truth, doctrine, convincing arguments, discernment or even clean living. The most powerful weapon that we have in our arsenal is love. I’ve seen love shine through illness, death, hate, racism, divorce, depression and regret. When you see love in these environments it is like seeing a rose in the desert. It’s like drinking from a pure fountain when you are about to die of thirst and like being next to a fire in the bitter cold. Suffering makes love stand out and it draws you in and warms you. That type of love is inexplicable.
SUPERNATURAL LOVE
It is not only hard to explain, it’s downright mysterious. When you get right down to it, there is absolutely no reason to show that kind of love while you are going through intense pain or when things in life are not going your way. It is enigmatic and supernatural.
Before you get spooked out on the word “supernatural” let’s take some cues from Webster’s and get on the same page. Here is a definition I’m fond of:
su·per·nat·u·ral (so͞opərˈnaCH(ə)rəl)/adjective “departing from what is usual or normal especially so as to appear to transcend the laws of nature.” (Merriam-Webster.com)
To see people reach out to others who are suffering and show them a one sided, unreciprocated, unrelenting love, is… unnatural. It is uncommon and I would submit that it “transcends the laws of nature”. The laws of nature are eat or be eaten. The laws of nature dictate “only the strong survive”: kill or be killed. The laws of nature state that if you don’t pick yourself up by your bootstraps, you WILL get left behind. When you really think about it, the way the natural world operates is like a machine.
“I’ll be back” – Have you ever seen the movie Terminator? I know, dumb question. Even if you haven’t seen it, it is pretty easy to get the gist of it. A robot from the future is sent back in time to kill Sarah Connor who will be the mother of John Connor who eventually leads humanity in the war against the robots that are trying to stamp out humanity. You know, the classic feel good story. As a teen, I was obsessed with this movie. There is something terrifying about the whole concept of the movie. I mean when Mr. Universe gets mad at you, you better beef up your last will and testament!
I think that the reason movies and stories like “Terminator” are scary to us is because machines don’t feel, they don’t care and you can’t appeal to their humanity in any way to stop their course of action. In the words of Reese from “Terminator”: “It can’t be bargained with. It can’t be reasoned with. It doesn’t feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead..” Wow, thanks Reese. I appreciate you softening the blow that a bloodthirsty robot bent on my destruction is virtually unstoppable. At least there’s that. If you’ll pardon me, I think I will put on some Pink Floyd, turn out all of the lights and eat a carton of ice cream just to cheer up.
Our lives are a little bit that way. Well, take out the bloodthirsty robot part. I think that’s why stories like this appeal to us on some level. Outside of any supernatural influence, the world that we live in is the same way. It is cruel, unfeeling and a it’s a machine that will chew you up and spit you out without blinking. That is the natural world that we live in. Have a nice day. (Wah waaaah) Seriously, the world that surrounds us doesn’t care what kind of day we’ve had, it doesn’t take into consideration what sort of tragedy we’ve experienced in our life and it certainly doesn’t have our best interest in mind.
I believe that there is something supernatural about love. It is hard to even explain what it is without getting kinda weird. Love is a feeling but it is much more than that. Love is an act of kindness but it is even more than that. Love is a way of viewing the world we live in but it is much more than that. It is all of the things that I mentioned before but significantly much, much more. When it comes right down to it, love is a way of life really. Love is supernatural. It transcends the laws of nature. So what prompts us to live a life full of love? We’ll talk about that next time.
mlsnellings 