From today’s reading...
Blessed is anyone who perseveres when trials come. Such a person is of proven worth and will win the prize of life, the crown that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” James 1:12
You were not created to live a life of leisure and luxury.
You were created to love, and “This thing they call love, it’s gonna make you cry,” because love stinks, as the J Geils Band recorded in 1979.
I guess, in a way, love does stink, but it sure beats the alternative.
If love stinks, it’s because of our limitations and shortcomings, but that’s also what makes love so awesome.
For example, in the song “Love Stinks,” they open with, “You love her, but she loves him, And he loves somebody else. You just can’t win.”
This unrequited love—love that is not returned or rewarded—hurts.
It stinks.
It creates heartache, shame, and grief.
It can break us down, but we can become more open to the requited love around us and available to us in doing so.
It can make us more vulnerable, which makes us even more lovable.
Case in point: a good friend, who is a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu at my school, has just been diagnosed with liver and pancreatic cancer.
As soon as I learned of his diagnosis, I texted him and told him I loved him.
He’s such a kind-hearted, generous soul.
He came to my house when our school was closed during COVID and spent time teaching my son and me Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
He has hosted us at his home to watch UFC fights.
He has been a towering, unbeatable giant to me for five years, and now he’s in pain and starts down the chemo path next week, and I love him more than ever.
God did not create us to live in our current state forever, but He did give us an eternal soul.
Our job is to keep our eyes and our hearts focused on Him and love as He loved, which means loving through the pain, through the ridicule, through the attacks, through the trials and tribulations, which is the only way to...
Stay the course.
Keep the faith.
Endure.
Now go sell something.
