RELIGION

I read only 5% of People in Churches will be Saved? Really?

Why isn’t love mentioned when talking about religion?

Is the Gospel of Love divisive?

Didn’t Jesus give examples of love rather than dogma? After all, he wasn’t happy with the Pharisees.

Why do so many Christians believe God is a God of division?

OK, yes. There is Luke 12:51 “Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I have come to divide people against each other.”

What about Mark 9:50, “… and be at peace with each other”? How about Matthew 5:9, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God”?

You can do a little Biblical research and pull up a number of conflicting quotes from Jesus. The three above are a few.

How does one bring about peace? Is it through love, which isn’t mentioned in any of the three cited quotes?

The love I’m talking about isn’t the touchy-feely “love” in greeting cards.

It’s the difficult kind of love found in “The Love Chapter” of 1Corinthians 13. That’s the one that says (in the 4th verse), “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.”

Oh my! I can think of numerous times I’ve totally not exhibited “that” love.

To grind in the message, Paul follows the above up with (verse 5), “… (Love) is not easily angered, it does not keep a record of wrongs.”

Uh-oh, this hot-blooded woman fails on two counts.

First, I can be easily angered. I’m much better than 10 years ago, even a year ago. Anger still bubbles up in me.

Second, last week in meditation on detachment I received a clear message. I needed to detach from my resentments. Resentments are definitely “a record of wrongs.”

Do you think your faith in Jesus can save you? Well, according to Paul in verses 1–3, you are, I am, nothing and I gain nothing if I don’t have love. It does write “nothing.” It doesn’t matter if I can move mountains with my faith. I have to love.

Does this mean that if I believe in Jesus, his crucifixion and resurrection, but don’t have love, I won’t go to heaven?

I discuss that a little later. For now, I want to go back to Jesus coming to divide people part.

Is love being demonstrated by Christians today?

What if Jesus was referring to people’s ability to love, or lack thereof, as being the division?

Jesus talked about love. He gave parables about loving strangers (the Good Samaritan, Luke 10:25–37) and told us to love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:31). (As an aside, Father “I-don’t-remember-his-name” was preaching and said, “That’s why we don’t love our neighbor, we don’t love ourselves.”)

What do we see and hear today from Christians of all denominations: words of hatred, actions of hatred, towards different, races, socioeconomic groups, LGBTQ+, political parties, countries, religions, married or not… or how many times, and on and on and on.

These hatreds are supposedly based upon the Judeo-Christian Bible.

Jesus told us to love, to be peacemakers. Only some of us are sometimes (none of us are continual). What’s the result? Division. The proclamation to love has brought division.

We humans can’t seem to accept people who are different, people who don’t believe or act as we do. We humans then are in fear of those who are different. When in fear we can do horrible things.

(Lots of research in this area. The why has to do with the brain, culture, and fear of differences.)

Perhaps the division comes from the command to love, to be peacemakers when our fear of who is different divides us and often divides deeply.

If I do not have love, am I doomed? Over the years I’ve come to believe God is a God of Love. In fact, all God is is Love. One of my theology professors at The University of Notre Dame du Lac amended one of my test answers from “God is Love” to “God is Love Itself.” I believe this to the depth of my being.

God created you, me, and everyone. God loves you, me, and everyone, including those we don’t like, intensely, deeply, as if we were the only person God created.

As that creation, God wants us back. God wants us whole and entire, and with God.

God isn’t some vindictive being who needs our love and adoration. If God needed anything, God wouldn’t be complete and whole within God’s self. If God needed something from us to be complete, God wouldn’t be God.

Some may wonder if God loves us no matter what we do, what would keep us from ransacking other people, the world?

Love.

If we learn to love, we will do those things Paul talked about in The Love Chapter. We will do so simply because we choose to love as Jesus showed us how to love. Our love for God will propel us to love, to do wondrous things for others.

Consider how much you want to please someone you love? You want to do things they want to do.

Jesus showed us what God as a loving Creator and Parent wants. To accept others as they are, to feed the hungry, care for the sick, visit those in prison, clothe the naked, and give our lives so that others may live.

God welcomes us home with open arms. There are “do-overs.” Each do-over begins with being sent in love and welcomed home with love.