{"id":111,"date":"2017-02-27T21:36:09","date_gmt":"2017-02-28T02:36:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/test.ststephensottawa.ca\/?p=111"},"modified":"2017-05-27T22:15:09","modified_gmt":"2017-05-28T03:15:09","slug":"choosing-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ststephensottawa.ca\/?p=111","title":{"rendered":"Choosing love"},"content":{"rendered":"

February 2017 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness
\n& self-control.\u00a0<\/em>\u2013 Galatians 2:22-23<\/p>\n

Love tops the list. It\u2019s the first evidence that we\u2019re under new management, that Christ is alive in us. Love grows in us because God is love<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Kate McCord relates her experiences living and working for five years in Afghanistan:<\/p>\n

In Islam, there are 99 names for God, but none is \u2018love.\u2019 In Afghanistan, no one tells people that God loves them. They tell each other God is kind, all powerful, and omniscient. God commands and people must obey. God will reward or punish depending on how people obey. (In the Land of Blue Burqas<\/em>, p. 105)<\/p>\n

For the Afghans she met, the idea that God is love<\/em> was absurd. They feared God\u2019s judgement. Whatever happened, they accepted as God\u2019s will. So, they became resigned to violence, loss, and acute suffering. But the violence and suffering that pervades the world does not<\/em> reflect God\u2019s will. They flow from our human inclination to resist<\/em> God\u2019s will with all we\u2019ve got.<\/p>\n

Our shared human rebellion, says the Apostle Paul, produces hatred, discord, jealousy, rage, selfish ambition, envy, drunkenness,\u00a0sexual immorality, idolatry\u2026 the list goes on. The human heart beats with a love of power: a desire to get the better of someone else. A desire to take more for ourselves. We see it in school yards. In workplaces. In business. In election campaigns.<\/p>\n

Songwriter Carolyn Arends says:<\/p>\n

So many living for the love of power,\u00a0 Wanting more until their final hour
\nThe day has come for us to be part of,\u00a0 The ones who find a ruler in the power of love.[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

When we\u2019ve grown up hearing that God loves us we may take it for granted. But listen again. Hear <\/em>the great good news: God<\/em> \u00b7 loves<\/em> \u00b7 you<\/em>. God loves us<\/em>. God loves<\/em> our neighbours.<\/p>\n

He invites us to revel in his love for us and for others. To live it. To be ruled by the power of love. This is not mushy or romantic. It isn\u2019t even a feeling. This love is a choice. A decision. A choice to bless instead of curse. A choice to give instead of grab.<\/p>\n

This is difficult. It\u2019s not what people expect. For too long we\u2019ve practised the love of power. But the Holy Spirit enables us to practise the power of love<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Of course, once we discover that God loves us<\/em>, it dawns on us that God loves other people too. Even people we don\u2019t like much. Just for fun, think of someone in your office, or classroom, or extended family. A neighbour or customer. Someone who\u2019s a challenge to love.<\/p>\n

What might help them know that they matter to God<\/em>? What if, this month, we began to pray for someone who only God knows how to love? Let\u2019s dare to choose love. To live love, in Jesus\u2019 name.<\/p>\n

Denise<\/em><\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> From \u201cThe Power of Love,\u201d by Carolyn Arends, on the album Love Was Here First<\/em>, \u00a0http:\/\/carolynarends.com\/site\/discography\/10<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

February 2017 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness & self-control.\u00a0\u2013 Galatians 2:22-23 Love tops the list. It\u2019s the first evidence that we\u2019re under new management, that Christ is alive in us. Love grows in … Continue reading “Choosing love”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ststephensottawa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ststephensottawa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ststephensottawa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ststephensottawa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ststephensottawa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=111"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/test.ststephensottawa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":112,"href":"https:\/\/test.ststephensottawa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111\/revisions\/112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ststephensottawa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ststephensottawa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ststephensottawa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}