I’ll provide a health update after I share this brief quote that crossed my computer this morning and stirred my heart. This is a more profound treasure in the mine of love. You cannot fairly hope in God’s gracious love towards you in your brokenness if you also don’t share it with those who haven’t “earned” yours.
Love the Person You See by SØREN KIERKEGAARD
We foolish people often think that when a person has changed for the worse we are exempted from loving him. What a confusion in language: to be exempt from loving. As if it were a matter of compulsion, a burden one wished to cast away! If this is how you see the person, then you really do not see him; you merely see unworthiness, imperfection, and admit thereby that when you loved him you did not really see him but saw only his excellence and perfections. True love is a matter of loving the very person you see. The emphasis is not on loving the perfections, but on loving the person you see, no matter what perfections or imperfections that person might possess.
Real love continues no matter how much a person changes.
Love is not an obligation nor obedience; it is a different way of living in a river of love that comes from the Father’s heart and flows through us to touch the world. Loved by him and then loving with him is where his glory dwells.
And of course this does not mean we have to maintain contact with people who are abusive or toxic. We can still love them, though, even from afar without letting ourselves continue to be a target for their anger and vengeance, in hopes that one day his light will dawn in their darkness.
Health update:
Thank you for all the emails, comments, notes, and calls expressing your love and prayers for us in this season. I am now three weeks from my back surgery, and the pain has lessened appreciably. I still have much to deal with there, but I have greater freedom of movement and have even been able to take some short walks (really short!) with Sara. I have begun treatments for the underlying cancer, and we are very hopeful that this will mitigate further damage. However, this is a long and challenging regimen, and it will be some time before we know its true impact.
So, my time, energy, and focus are limited. I can respond to some emails and enjoy phone calls with friends, but I’m only doing what God seems to inspire me to do each day. I am not worried about trying to keep up with any workload; this will continue to be a time of healing for the foreseeable future. Through it all, Sara has been God‘s greatest gift to me, though I know it is also taking its toll on her. Pray for her strength to endure these days and the wisdom to know when to take a break and care for herself. Hopefully, as I can do more, she will not be so taxed.
In all of this, Sara and I are not without hope—that our God reigns, that every breath we take is in his hands, and that the works of darkness will not thwart his purpose in us. I am grateful to be his son and to live in his growing grace and revelation. Kyle and I may even record a podcast next week, strength permitting, to process some of what I’m learning in this stretch of the journey for those who are interested.
In our prayers for my condition, I always remember Jenny, a friend from the UK who has been suffering longer and far more deeply than me. Whenever I am before the Lord for my health, I am before him for hers, too. I’ve written about her on this blog as a gifted poet finding real faith amid desperate need. She needs some significant help right now if you have some means to help her. And please pray for her too as you pray for me.
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