Bold As Love (Just Ask the Axis)

So there's this gas station a few miles from my house, out in Fairview, on Highway 100. It's just a little country store gas station, one of the few that's open 24 hours in this neck of the woods, and it's got a sign out front that normally displays people's birthdays or anniversaries, or some prayer request for a family touched by grief, or some other little personal message. The last time I drove by, it was showing one of those personal messages, and here's the message:

ID LOVE 2

GO WITH

U

SASHA

Now, I don't have any idea who put this up, what he'd love to go to with Sasha, or who Sasha is, but I sure hope she liked it. I hope she melted into a puddle of goo. I hope she had to park on the side of the road, take a picture, upload it to Facebook, and then wipe the tears from her eyes while calling her best friend just to say "Oh, he's just so sweeeeeeeeeeeeet!"

But I'll admit it: even though I'm a die-hard romantic, I can understand that it might not have gone quite the way I hope it did - or quite the way the guy who put it up had hoped it would!

It's entirely possible that Sasha saw this guy's bold declaration and was embarrassed by it. Maybe she was embarrassed that the whole town of Fairview saw it. Maybe she was embarrassed by the fact that it was on the sign at the gas station. Or maybe this guy who put up the sign is just completely nuts and she was embarrassed by having this weirdo publicly longing for her.

But in either case... Good for him. Good for that guy having the guts to put something like that out there in public for everyone to see. It thrills me - as a romantic and as a Christian - to see that there's still at least one dude out there who's not afraid to show love in a public way - boldly, even.

Love is tricky stuff. For those of you who know me, whether it's personally or just through this blog, you'll recall that I'm not exactly lucky when it comes to romantic love. (I'll fully grant the possibility that I'm not "lucky" in romantic love for the same reason I'm not "lucky" in Calculus - I could very simply just have no idea what I'm doing.)

But despite my failures and/or shortcomings as dating material, I think I'm starting to figure out some stuff about the Love that is all you need, which is - in fact - everywhere.

One of the things I've learned - I think - is that there is a certain boldness required in Love. A lot of times we see in TV shows (like House the other night) or movies where there's a guy completely lovestruck, but he's too afraid for whatever reason to confess his love for this girl who is just aching for him to say something, this girl who would love to be in love with this guy, but she won't say anything about it, either.

Now, I think it's fairly safe to say that I'm not taking any notes from TV in that area. Girls that I'm fond of tend to find it out. Sometimes it has worked for me. I basically made a bet with my ex-girlfriend Michelle that us dating would be a great idea. And it was, for a few months! But other times it just winds up being the elephant in the room, you know? There's a genuine friendship connection built up, and then "Oh, hey, here's a... ummm... poem. For you. That I wrote. Because apparently I do that?" But since we're already good friends... Yeah, it's a thing. (That one doesn't have a good track record so far.)

But the point is not that I share my dating woes with you (but I do hope you're laughing at them), the point is this boldness in Love thing. It might not be the greatest approach when it comes to romance, but I believe that when we're talking about the Love we should have for everybody, there's really no other choice.

In the first few verses of John 5, Jesus heals a paralytic at the pool. One of the things that I find interesting about this healing in particular is that Jesus just up and does it. In a lot of the other specific instances we have recorded of Jesus' healing miracles, He is asked to perform the healing, usually by the sick person, but occasionally by a family member of the sick. But in John 5, Jesus just walks up, sees a man, and goes out of His way to heal him.

In Luke 13, we see another instance of Jesus healing without being asked. This time, it's the story of the woman who was bent over and couldn't stand up straight - Jesus saw her, called her over to Him, and healed her.

So Love, right? Love means you go out of your way to make someone's life better. Love means you don't always have to wait until people ask - when you see something that you can do, you do it.

But even then, there's another miracle of Jesus that I really like. In Mark 10, Jesus and the disciples were leaving Jericho, and they come across a blind man named Bartimaeus. Bartimaeus calls out to Jesus, and when Jesus talks to Bartimaeus, the first thing He says to him - and this is in verse 51 - is "What do you want Me to do for you?"

This is the first time Jesus ever met Bartimaeus, and the first thing Jesus asks is how He can serve Bartimaeus - how He can show His Love.

So Jesus sets a pretty solid example for how we ought to Love people, especially when gifted with the miraculous powers of healing. Snag is, I don't have that one.

But thankfully, the book of Acts is absolutely stuffed with examples of the apostles and early church showing Love through their actions, boldly preaching Christ, and serving one another in Love.

But it seems to me that we've lost sight of something in the years since. It seems that we've lost some of the edge, some of the boldness that Jesus and the early church displayed.

Love is not self-seeking, according to I Corinthians 13:5. But I look around - and look at myself - and see a Love that is hindered, a Love that seems to be sleeping, and that's not OK.

We've let the world talk us into shutting up. We've let the world talk us into calming down. We've let our own fear of looking weird or being mocked or persecuted push us back into our own little comfort zones where we don't step out and really confront people with the Love that we have been shown from God.

I know that I'm guilty of it, at least. I know that I am paralyzed by my own fear when it comes to showing Love for others. I'm weird enough as it is, there's no reason to go throwing fuel on the fire. I can't just go out of my way to be kind to strangers, can I? I can't make it a point in my life to improve the lives of those around me with every move I make, can I? I can't unashamedly speak the truth with every word, can I?

How would the world react to that?

Oh, yeah, that's right - they'd crucify me.

And I think that's part of why we've lost our edge on Love. I think that's part of why we're not being as bold as we should be. I think we've seen the world crucify one too many.

I think we've seen fellow Christians crucify one too many.

I think we've let sin and complacency and the love for "religion" rule our lives instead of the genuine Love for God, Love from God, and Love for His world. And I don't mean that to say that every one of you, any one of you, or really even myself, is guilty of some heinous sin where we've ignored God's commands to show Love. I think we're just holding back.

And I'd like to see that come to an end.

I'd like to see the body of Christ, His church, His people, His children, rise up in unity and in strength and say, "Hey! I'm gonna Love you, no matter what!"

And I'd like us to keep doing that even after the first shots are fired.

Because if there's any one thing that I've learned, it's that Love can be a tricky thing.

And sometimes even when you're showing Love to someone, they don't want it. Sometimes they can't see it as Love. Sometimes they do see it as Love, but still don't want any part of it, because Love is contagious, and Love means putting others before yourself. Love means sacrifice. Love means doing the hard things to help someone, even if they don't want it.

How do we show Love to someone who's crippled by a heroin addiction? How do we show that person Love when the very thing they want the most in this world - the thing that they in fact physiologically need - is also the very thing killing them?

How do we show Love to someone in an unhealthy relationship? How do we show them Love when their current idea of love is filled with manipulation and fear, jealousy and insecurity, or lies and pain?

How do we show Love to someone who is blatantly, knowingly defying the word of God in the pursuit of their happiness? How do we show them Love when their idea of love is one that allows complete moral freedom without any reproach? How many times have you heard this? "If God/Jesus/you really loved me, He/you would let me do what I want, because it makes me happy. That's what love means - making other people happy."

Say it with me everybody! No. That's not what Love means. Letting others do what they want isn't Love, it's apathy. Love means helping others be their best. Love means showing others how to care for themselves as well as those around them. Love means all of us working to make everyone's life better today than it was yesterday, and then making sure that tomorrow is even better than today.

And sometimes that Love means telling people things they don't want to hear.

As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.'"

"Teacher," he declared, "all these I have kept since I was a boy."

Jesus looked at him and Loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.

- Mark 10:17-22, emphasis added

What happened there? This young man, obviously enthusiastic about meeting Jesus, obviously enthusiastic about seeking holiness, obviously enthusiastic about knowing the heart of God... This young man comes up to Jesus and says "I want to do it right." Jesus checks him and finds him to be a righteous young man - except for one thing. And then, in the perfect Love of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, He tells the young man the last thing he wanted to hear. Jesus - in perfect Love - wrecked this guy's world. Jesus - the embodiment of Love - said something that made this guy sad! Jesus - who Loved us enough to die for us, even while we were still sinners! - showed this man Love, and in Love, told him the truth, even though the truth hurt.

So I don't know about you, but I've got some adjusting to do. I've got some learning to do. I've got to figure out how to Love people better. I've got to figure out how to get up the guts to tell people what they need to hear - in grace, truth, and Love - instead of just letting them live their lives in sin, deception, and pain.

I've got to move past my fear of the world and embrace the spirit of courage that I have been given through the power of Christ's redemption into the Love of the Father.

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of Love and of self-discipline.

- II Timothy 1:7

Love others. Love all others. Love your family, Love your friends, Love your church, Love your co-workers, Love your enemies, Love everyone you come in contact with. Love them whether they're ready for it or not. Love them whether they LIKE it or not! Love every single person you come across in this world with the Love that has been shown to you, the Love that laid down His life for us, the Love that bled for us, the Love:

Who, being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

but made Himself nothing,

taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled Himself

and became obedient to death—

even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place

and gave Him the name that is above every name,

that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

- Philippians 2:6-11

God Loves you. YOU. You reading this right now. You, personally. YOU are His special child. YOU are His, forever. YOU have been bought for a high price. God loves YOU enough that He took on flesh and died for YOU.

And to the best of my limited abilities, I Love you, too. Yes, again - YOU. I Love YOU. Which is why I'm telling you to go out and Love others. Love them like you mean it. Love them like your very soul depends on it - because it does! Love them the way that you have been shown, with the Father's Love, through the Love of the Son, in the Holy Spirit of Love.

Next week, I'll be writing about how Love can save you. So look forward to that. (Also, I wanted to throw in one more tune.)