By Pastor Tim White
How would our world change if everyone learned a new reverence for life, even people who don’t believe in Jesus? What would happen if we did just a little bit better at loving like Jesus. Here is a surprise - I am happy when I hear the Dalai Lama say something that is loving and full of joy. As a Christ-follower it doesn’t anger me at all. I am full of joy when I have lunch with an atheist friend and I am reinvigorated by their down-to-earth lack of pretense and personal politeness. And I would love it if North Korea, Iran and Syria could become more loving places. It has to just break every human being’s heart when children are killed by poison gas during a war. The Love that Jesus is talking about runs deeper than how we identify ourselves religiously; it reaches down to the core of our creation as human beings.
I used to hear people say that love is a two-sided coin; love on one side and truth or justice on the other. But I think they are both pretty much the same. You can’t love if you don’t stand up for truth and justice. And if you stand up for truth and justice without love you are just being manipulative. We have so much to learn about loving the Jesus way.
With that said, I owe my capacity to love to Jesus Christ. I have a lot to learn from him and I will always love him for loving me first. I want to live to be over 100 just to see how loving I will become after walking with Jesus through all those years. I like the statement by Job: When he has tried me, I will come forth as gold. I believe my heart is in the process of being made into gold. And I know that so many of my friends are also on that wonderful adventure.
I like to hike with my dog every day. And we are building up to hike the Pacific Coast Trail. We never know what we are going to find. A beaver for my dog to play with, ducks for my dog to swim with, a new friend for me to walk with - it is always a surprise. The weather is a surprise. The birds are glorious. Well that is nothing compared to the surprises in store for those of us who enter the adventure of learning to love like Jesus.
Your friend for the rest of my life,
Pastor Tim White