Love Like That

One of this week’s lectionary readings is from 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13. I read it first in from the NIV version, and then from The Message. The Message version really struck a chord with me, and helped me to see Paul in a way that I never have before.

What would be an adequate thanksgiving to offer God for all the joy we experience before him because of you? We do what we can, praying away, night and day, asking for the bonus of seeing your faces again and doing what we can to help when your faith falters. May God our Father himself and our Master Jesus clear the road to you! And may the Master pour on the love so it fills your lives and splashes over on everyone around you, just as it does from us to you. May you be infused with strength and purity, filled with confidence in the presence of God our Father when our Master Jesus arrives with all his followers.

Paul is writing to the church in Thessalonica from Corinth after hearing report of them from Timothy. The church had been persecuted, but Timothy brought Paul good news of the firm stand of the believers.

Can you hear it? Do you hear the yearning in Paul’s voice? He’s in Corinth, but he longs to be with the church in Thessalonica. It seems to me that he is feeling the distance from them, like someone who is part of a body of Christ, but pulled away from them – a family member who would rather be helping them, than writing to them.

• He wants to share in their joy.
• He wants to enjoy their actual presence – partake in fellowship with them – be with them.
• He wants to build them up when they fall – when their faith falters. He’s not saying that to point out failures in their faith, but to express his desire to HELP them.
• And he’s praying that they will experience the tremendous love that God has for them.

He’s doing what he can from a distance – praying for them. Even from far away, he has not forgotten them. I do get a feeling, from reading this passage, that he’s feeling the pain of separation, and would rather be a physical presence in the Body of Christ with them, than be encouraging them from a distance.

It’s church, to me. It’s what we should be doing for each other. Sharing joy, sharing presence, sharing service, building each other up, praying for each other. Do we yearn for it as Paul does? I think we do – all the time. There are times when we don’t recognize it, or think the yearning is for something else, but it is a longing to be a part of the communion of God’s children.

Love that fills our lives and splashes over on everyone around us. What would that be like?

On Thanksgiving Day, after we were finished with dinner and dessert, we were all sitting around the table, talking. Steve and his brother were in the kitchen, working on refilling drinks. Judy (Steve’s mother) was sitting in a chair opposite the kitchen door, so she could see what was happening. My mom was sitting next to her, but facing a different direction. I couldn’t see any of it, but I hear tales..

Anyway, Steve is picking up a 1/3 full 2 liter bottle of Diet Pepsi. He drops it, but quick like a ninja, grabs it before it hits the ground. The lid was still on it, and it got quite a shaking in the drop and catch game.

He holds it over the sink, and this may be the only mistake he made, he opens it. Diet Pepsi spayed everywhere! It covered his clothes, his face, his hair, the counter, the sink, the corn pudding casserole sitting next to the sink, the wall, and the ceiling. Pepsi EVERYWHERE. Dripping.

Judy, who can see all of this, reacts. Her eyes opened up like saucers; her mouth made an “O.” The joyful expression was so dramatic, that Mom had to turn to look to see what caused it.

Love like Paul is talking about is like that. It is shaken up, under pressure, and it sprays everywhere, and covers everything. It drips and runs. It is so obvious that people around us can see it, and they stop in amazement. Their reactions are so dramatic, that other people notice.

Love like that. God’s love is like that.

Images: The sunrise this morning in our subdivision was spectacular. I don't know if you can see it or not, but driving away from the sunrise, I noticed that is was turning all the brown winter trees orange with reflected light. The second picture is our ceiling in the kitchen after the Diet Pepsi explosion. The hand belongs to Steve. He's one of only people I know who can clean a ceiling while standing on the ground. He wouldn't stop cleaning long enough for me to snap a picture of the drips, so many of them are gone, but each spot is this huge drip of Diet Pepsi.