Written in the sky

It's not unusual for me to see beautiful patterns in the clouds on my long drive in to work every morning, but yesterday blew them all away. An airplane was skywriting LOVE across the bright blue morning sky. It got me to thinking, and reflecting, and contemplating possibilities. See, for too many of us, we associate love with a feeling. I've done it my whole life. While love causes us to feel, often very deeply, it is because of an action that displayed that love to us.

There is no greater example of this than Jesus.

For God so LOVED the world that he gave his one and only Son, so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life" (John 3:16)

Love is a verb. It is something that has to be demonstrated. It is not enough to simply say it because words often lack substance. If you think about it, you've probably said "I love you" many times out of a mere response to someone who said it to you first, without considering whether you truly do, or what you've done lately to show that person. In all of our relationships, we are called to love others as Jesus did. That means much more than an automated reply. It means patience, kindness, humility, perseverance, selflessness, honesty, honor, and trust (1 Corinthians 13). This is the kind of love that never dies. It is eternal and equally rewarding. 

I don't know about you, but I am still working on it. The other part of this is getting to a place where you are ready to receive this kind of love. Many of us struggle with self-worth. Listen . . . you will be forever disappointed by the things and people of the world because they can fail you. God does not fall short. I am reminded of His amazing love for me in spite of all my failings through nature, through music, through the eyes of my children, and even from time to time - through the love letters He writes in the sky.