The answer is love

Followers of Jesus are a peculiar bunch. For us the answer to every question is love. Our task is simply to discover what shape or form love should take in any given situation.

Why is the answer to every question love? Because God’s love is the core hunger of all creation. We were made by love for love of love. So, every ache and hunger that we experience is at the core an ache or hunger for love. One teacher says, The architect of our hearts has made our hearts in such a way that only love will do the trick to satisfy the longing of our aching hearts. St. Augustine said, Our hearts are restless until they rest in thee o’ God.

Before he had done anything at all in public ministry Jesus heard the voice of God say, You are my beloved, with you I am well pleased. It was on that foundation of love that Jesus did all that he did. I am fully convinced that the message he received at his baptism, You are my beloved, is a message not just meant for him, but for all of us. Before you’ve done anything at all, much less anything right, you are God’s beloved. You are an endlessly loved child of God. Your original programming is an inherent be-loved-ness, thus your core hunger will always be love. 

I don’t hear much about love anymore in the public sphere. That means that we Christians are all the more important in the world today. We are the ones for whom love is paramount. No matter the question, no matter the circumstances, for us the answer is love. Our repertoire contains no counter-attack, no pre-emptive strike, no hitting back, no name-calling, gossiping, or even non-violent finger pointing. In any given moment we know the answer, we know what’s called for. Love in some shape or form. That’s not to say that applying love to the moment is easy. It’s usually not. Christians are constantly on a wild adventure of discovery as we imagine what shape love should take as we seek to apply it to whatever and whoever is right in front of us.