The Opposite of Love

If I were to ask you what is wrong with the world today, what would you say?

Perhaps you would say we are too selfish as a culture.  Or maybe there are still to many wars that disrupt the balance of our civilized world.  Yet another might be the topic of hate, prejudice, racism, and all the other forms of hate.  Perhaps your answer would critique the very pessimistic view that my question implies, “There is something wrong.”  While all of these are very valid perspectives, I wonder if our issue is less about what exists and more about what we lack…LOVE.  Where’s the Love?

I apologize if you now have the Black Eyed Pea’s song stuck in your head or better yet just about any song sung by Bob Marley.

Every time I open my bible I’m confronted with the topic of love.  How are we to show love to one another?  How has God shown love to us and what does it mean to love God back?  Love is at the root of our existence.  Love drives our passion and movement in life.  Love drew me to ministry.  Whether it is my love of talking to people and seeking to help others live a fulfilling life by knowing Jesus.  Love moves me to make sacrifices for the important relationships in my life.  Love is what motivates me to write this article, because I love the topic of “LOVE” and want to share it.

Love is at the root of our existence.  Love drives our passion and movement in life.

Love is a driving force in our life.  That is why the words of the ever famous philosopher, Anonymous, ring so true: “Love makes the world go round.”

Logically this idea would lead us to believe that more love would make the world a better place.  But, what stands in the way of love?  What is the opposite of love?

If we found ourselves on the game-show Family Feud, the survey might say: hate, evil, anger, prejudice, or fear.  Do you find any of these on your list?

I once heard a pastor proclaim, “The opposite of love is not hate…it’s apathy!”  The opposite of love is not hate or fear.  These may be obstacles for love, but what truly opposes love is indifference.  There can be a thin line between love and hate.  I can love good, but hate evil.  Indifference and Apathy are a different story all together.  Apathy is the the complete lack of emotion and investment in another person or thing.

When we look at the world through apathetic eyes we see a world not worth our time and care.  When we come upon a situation of injustice and just keep on walking, apathy is opposing the love in our heart.

I recently spoke to a group of teenagers about their ability to change the world.  Too often we consider the condition of our world and see it as too big to fix.  We find ourselves saying, “I can’t save the whole world!”  None of us can save the whole world, but that is not our job.  (In fact, that is what Christ accomplished for us!)  However, we can make a difference by allowing love to overcome our apathy.  When we are confronted with a situation where we can act and make a difference, no matter how small, simple or mundane, we are making a change.

When we oppose apathy in our lives, love can begin to drive us to new heights.  Love can inspire us to start something new.  Love can motivate us to become a better person.  Love can cause us to leave the prison of our own selfish tendencies to embrace the freedom of caring for someone else.

• Where in your life has apathy taken hold?
• What might happen if you can identify those areas and choose to love instead?

Love makes the world go round…just think about what your love can do!

Bring the Rain

When it rains, it pours! If you are like me, you despise this inevitable phenomenon. We rarely have one problem but one problem followed by an avalanche.A project at work is pressing so you plan to spend a few extra hours working on it, only to find out that your child has come down with a strange illness. We know where the story goes from here. The first drops of rain are often merely a precursor to a raging storm and guess what? We forgot our umbrella!

“We rarely have one problem but one problem followed by an avalanche.”

‘Why God? Why do you allow these storms to rage in our midst, tossing us about like a rag doll? Why God? Things were going so well. What did I do wrong? Why are you silent?’ These are the questions of faith that love to present themselves during such circumstances. Much like our friends the disciples in Matthew 8:23-27 (Click to Read Passage) we stand terrified in the face of nature’s fury wondering how, in the name of all that is holy, is Jesus sleeping? Why is He silent? ‘You claim so much power, so why don’t you do anything?’ How often our vision is blurred in the onslaught of rain.

In our story, Jesus awakes and is said to rebuke the wind and waves. What follows is the silence of the calm. The storm has subsided in an instance. The tornado vanished and Dorothy’s house hits the ground with a resulting silence as she and Toto look at each other in bewilderment. But more curious then that is the comment Jesus makes to His disciples just prior to this miraculous action. “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” And silently to ourselves we think, ‘what do you mean why am I so afraid? Did you not see that storm? We were going to die! I have faith…faith that nature can do what it wants and that includes taking my life.’ So often our problem is not our lack of faith, but misplaced faith. We put our faith in the power of our circumstances instead of the Lord of All. We take our trust from our Father and give it to the powers of evil that delight in the use of our difficult circumstances as a weapon against God’s approaching kingdom!

“So often our problem is not our lack of faith, but misplaced faith. We put our faith in the power of our circumstances instead of the Lord of All.”

It is in these storms that Jesus excels, in such awesome power. Yet our questions continue. ‘If it is so easy to calm the storms and you have so much power why don’t you prevent them from happening?’ To some extent that is not our place. We are told in Isaiah 55:8 ‘”For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.’ We are not privileged yet to see the entire picture. God is beyond us and we often must trust that He knows what He is doing.

Yet beyond that, it is through these storms that we witness God’s mercy and power. If it were not for the storm the disciples would not have witnessed Christ’s power over it. If it weren’t for April showers we wouldn’t have ‘May flowers’. If it weren’t for turmoil, we wouldn’t appreciate peace. God’s ways are not our ways and so often things don’t make sense. But I do believe in a God of love that is striving to further His kingdom in me and among us all and seeks a good that is beyond my comprehension. God loves us all!

Maybe you are experiencing a storm. Maybe there are dark clouds in the distance and maybe they are invisible to the eyes. Maybe you sit confused in the wake of a past storm. Have faith! Have faith that God is with you working in His own special way. Maybe God is using the effects of the storm to work His power in a way that is beyond us, to further His kingdom. Through this faith maybe we can pray the words from MercyMe’s song ‘Bring the Rain.’

“Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there’ll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that’s what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain”
- AMEN-