Sixth Sunday of Easter
A New Way of Love
What comes to mind when you think of love? I like to remind myself on a daily basis that love wins. Love grows. Love expands. Love fills the spaces where it is not.
Jesus commanded us to love. That’s how the world will know that we follow Christ. There isn’t enough love in the world around us. Jesus even knew that the Holy Spirit was needed, to point out the places where love was lacking and to encourage and inspire us to go there. And as we go to those places where love is required, we let the love from within us as followers of Jesus fill the need.
Peace, then, goes hand in hand with love. The more peaceful one is, the more loving they are. The more loving one is, the more peaceful they become. This cycle reflects our relationship to Christ into the world and people around us.
Yet, none of the work that surrounds these foundational aspects of faith comes easily, just because we are called to live a life of love and peace in the name of God. Often it seems that we do not grow in our understanding of how things can get better. Instead of seeking new information, we resort to when we believe something was better and then seek to go backwards to it, rather than forwards. We’ve all seen a politician who doubles down on their (often wrong) belief, rather than allowing new information to change the way they act or vote.
When we are tempted to double down on what isn’t working, maybe we’re called instead to let go, and to pick up a new, more advanced, way of love and peace. Let us always continue to grow in love and peace in all we do.
Matt Gillard, Moravian pastor
Canadian District, Northern Province