What a great week! Being fed spiritually, musically, "homiletically"--all at the same time! The Festival of Homiletics was packed full of worship, study, and music. We began by 8:30 every morning and did not get back to unwind until almost 10:00 each night. The people of Nashville, and First Baptist Church, in particular, were so hospitable, in spite of the challenges they have been facing since the flood.
For me, the same theme seemed to be reinforced over and over again all week, and especially encapsulated by the Bonnie Raitt song (written by former NFL player Mike Reid), "I Can't Make You Love Me . . . You can't make your heart feel something it won't." How can a Nashville love song reiterate God's song and our song? The Spirit moves in strange and wondrous ways. Tongues of fire, rushing wind, country music . . .
God in Jesus Christ put it all out there for us, loving us without strings, becoming ultimately vulnerable to our response--which, too much of the time, is NOT to love back. Unrequited love is the Gospel story. Sometimes we make a start to love God back, but mostly we don't. All we like sheep have gone astray . . . the younger son, wandering to a far off land . . . the older son, standing grudgingly in the dark outside the party . . . the father, waiting for both of them to come home.
It's the call for us as Christians to do that, too, which makes being a disciple of Jesus supremely hard, I think. It's our job to love others, not to BE loved back. I always find it painful to learn how to do love that way. I'd rather have guarantees. Maybe that is what it means to take up our cross--loving without expecting reciprocation. Maybe not doing that is part of what sin is.
In any case, I am renewed in many ways, and nourished to keep following, and hopefully, to keep growing and learning how to love.
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