Love Largely

Since the “season” had not officially opened, the quaint town where I was staying was quiet, peaceful. On my morning walk, I spotted a small church on the corner and decided to slip in for a minute. The wood paneled interior and stained-glass windows were breathtaking. The single light shining on the altar gave the empty sanctuary a sense of, well, holiness. I was moved…

So moved that I decided to attend the service later that morning. But as I entered, my delight proved short-lived. As people filed into the pews, the room that had earlier palpated with God’s presence didn’t feel holy anymore. Instead, it resonated with fallen creatures just like me.

People. Human beings. We are the pinnacle of God’s creation. We are its blemish. Theologian Francis Schaeffer once referred to man as a “glorious ruin.” Glorious because he created us in his image; ruined because of the fall. We experience the heights of love and creativity as well as the depths of depravity. Our relationships to one another encompass the very sweetest of life’s experiences but also the most bitter.

How do we keep relationships in proper perspective? How do we resist the temptation, on one hand, to elevate the dearest and nearest to idol status or on the other, to let another’s failures drive us behind walls of isolation?

Scripture exhorts that “a friend loves at all times” (Proverbs 17:17). Jesus taught that there was no greater love than to lay down one’s life for a friend (John 15:13). Yet at the same time, he did not entrust himself to man because he knew what man’s human nature was like (John 2:24). He was fully aware of our fickle, ignoble ways, but his love for us never lessened…even to death.

That’s the kind of love God wants us to nurture. It’s large. It values the glorious and has grace for the ruined. It takes us through the ebb and flow of human interactions, and provides borders of security—borders that broaden the more we love him.

He alone enables us to love largely with a passion so great that even glorious ruins can be transformed into a holy sanctuary.

Thank you, Father, for creating us to have relationships. And for teaching us to love other people like you do. To love largely.

Throughout the Day: Think of the most meaningful relationships in your life. Consider whether you view them with a God-like perspective.