The Greatest of These is Love

* And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:1

     Amy Carmichael tells the story of a little girl that she had in her girl's home in India. When she came to them she was a little weak bag of bones. The bag was made of her shriveled dusty brown skin. Her hair was the same color as her skin, and it hung about her head like the tattered shreds of a spider web. She sat in a bunch and never smiled. Amy thought that good food and care would bring her around, but as the weeks went on, she only grew more wizened every day, and didn't even look like a human baby at all.

     When all else failed they took a young girl out of school, and gave her the job of loving, cuddling and playing with the baby girl all day long. A week went by, and there were fewer whimpers, but no smiles. Then a few more days went by, and one day she smiled three times. The next day the record rose to seven, and then they left off counting. Her skin became clear and creamy brown. Her hair lost its dustiness. Her little body filled out. And she became a happy, cheerful little girl, all because of the power of love.

The greatest thing on earth below is love (wonderful love),
The greatest thing the angels know is love (wonderful love),
The greatest grace in God's own heart is love (wonderful love),
In earth and sky, all things above, is love, wonderful love.

     When I was a little girl I was abused by someone who should have loved and taken care of me. The resulting emotional trauma of it was so severe that I didn't even feel like a normal human being. I was so extremely insecure that I felt like the only way I was worth anything to anyone was by whatever they could get out of me. I was terrified of being a burden on others, and I would stuff the hurricane of anguish and raw pain deep inside and try to forget about it and ignore it, and focus on everyone else. I did well while absorbed in taking care of precious little children, and their dear sick or weary mothers, but as soon as I had time alone to think with no one needing anything at the moment, I was a disaster. I would be so frustrated with myself, because no matter how hard I tried, I didn't seem to be able to get beyond hurting to the depths of my heart. For every step forward, out of the pain, it seemed I would take two or three steps backward a short time later. When tragedy struck again and I lost almost all the people that I had poured my life into day after day, year after year, I ended up in a complete break down emotionally, and just passionately longed for death to rescue me from my own shattered heart. I had no other hope of ever being whole again, and I felt totally unable to endure anymore.

     A few years later God gave me a dear old friend, who found out about some of my past, and just showered me with love and tenderness. I will never forget the soothing comfort and healing of being wrapped up in loving arms, and tenderly held, with my hair gently stroked, and being told, "I'm so sorry, Honey, I'm so sorry." I was utterly exhausted from the years of struggling with razor sharp pain, trying to make it go away, and trying to be strong. But when I laid my head on a loving shoulder so many times, and felt safe, secure, cared for, and loved, the hurt of all those years began to melt away. I started to feel like a human being again. My heart healed far more in a few weeks time, than it had in all the years before, and I have never hurt that bad over all those haunting memories since then. I still have times where I feel sad about it all, and I still have scars, but it doesn't even compare to the awful hurt that I tried to cope with for years. The power of love just wiped it away.

* That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love. Col. 2:2

     Now I'm thankful to God from the bottom of my heart both for the pain and the healing. Without it I never would have known a human soul could endure such depths of suffering and broken despair, and I never would have learned to care from the depths of my heart. And without it I never would have learned from experience the miraculous healing power of simple love.

     There is nothing I so passionately desire in my own life, as to be filled with the love of Jesus, and to able to love others. That has been my heart-cry for many years.

* But above all these things put on love. Col. 3:14

     When I get to the end of the day, and am far behind on many things I'd planned to accomplish, I'm more than satisfied as long as I've spent my time loving someone. If there's a sick or fretful baby that needs soothing and cuddling all day I will very gladly leave other things undone. If there's a little child that's feeling insecure and sad, and wants to snuggle and rock, I do not care how much of a mess the house is in. Twenty years from now, no one will care or even remember the things all over the furniture and floor, but the little child's heart is being shaped for life by whether they felt loved or not. If I've spent my time just being there for my precious friends, loving, listening, caring, and praying I don't feel that there is any greater privilege that could be given to me on earth. Everything here will pass away one day, and be gone forever, but love will last and last throughout all of eternity.

* Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 1 Cor. 13:8

     The cost of loving is often extremely great. The capacity to love deeply is the capacity to suffer deeply. Because we live in a world filled with suffering and loss, we often have to watch our loved ones suffer, and sometimes we lose them. So many times I've felt like a knife has plunged into the depths of my heart, when someone I love is suffering. I know that I wouldn't hurt so badly if I didn't love them so deeply, but I would NEVER trade the pain for loving them less. I would NEVER EVER even consider being less involved in their hurts and suffering to spare myself the suffering. No, I embrace the privilege to love with the depths of my heart, no matter how deeply the pain cuts. And when my heart is torn out by the loss of dearly loved ones, I still am thankful with all of my soul for the time that I had to love them. And my prayer to God is that He would give me the ability to love, not less, but more and more, because I know that love is the greatest gift that we can ask Him for.

* Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 1 Cor. 13 2-3

2004 A Sister In Christ