love like that

"Watch what God does, and then you do it...mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with Him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn't love in order to get something from us but to give everything of Himself to us. Love like that." (Ephesian 5: 1ff-The Message)

I read this passage this afternoon and several things spoke to me.

First, God gently reminded me that I need to keep better company with Him. It is the only way to know Him and the only way to learn from Him. He is truth and in order to know that truth I need to be more diligent in spending time in His Word. It is easy for me to read my little "Echoes of Eternity" devotional ( which is great by the way) and pray but lately I have been skipping my Bible reading. It is imperative especially as I am participating in an interesting book club at work.

Our book this month is called, "The God Delusion," by Richard Dawkins. He is a professor at Oxford who happens to be an atheist. In this book he sets out to, "eviscerate the arguments for religion and demonstrates the supreme improbability of the existence of a supreme being. He makes a case that faith is not just irrational but potentially deadly."

I prayerfully decided to purchase this book and read it. It is tough to plough through and is not witty or humourous as promoted on the back cover! A friend of mine gave me a copy of a rebuttal from a Christian author, which is a helpful supplement. I enjoy hearing the various arguments but want to make sure I am not subtly sucked into his definition of truth. Thus, my need to "keep company with God" and be diligent in studying the Bible - studying Truth! I look forward to our book club discussion. At this point, I must digress a bit and share a neat story related to this book.

One of my co-workers, who is also in the book club, was in a car accident last week on her way to work. It was the morning of one of our bad snowstorms, so the roads were terrible. She ended up crossing the road into the oncoming traffic and hit a sign ending up in the ditch. She hit no other vehicles and had little damage done to her car - though clearly shaken. When she was telling me her story, she ended by saying:

"After I read 'The God Delusion,' it confirmed what I had always believed, but now I definitely think there is a God up there - no there is a God- he spared my life."

At that moment, I silently sent up a thank you prayer to God and then I said to her, "yes there is a God and He definitely looked out for you!" God used this "garbley- gooped" ( is that a word...I hope so!!) book - a book setting out to disprove God exists- to reveal Himself to my co-worker! God is AMAZING! It confirmed that I am to continue trudging through this book and be His voice, even though He doesn't need me to be His voice, at our book club meeting! The Truth will set you free!!!

Secondly, this passage spoke to me about how we are to love. In society today, it is all about " what will you give me in return for_________" You fill in the blank. Love has become conditional. Even in the church. One of the reasons I wished God allowed me to have children of my own was so I could understand His unconditional love more. But, the great news is all I need to do is keep company with Him and I will learn a life of unconditional love. Watch, observe, remember the Cross! As I take an honest look at my heart, most times my love is conditional. Keep better company with Jesus Karyne so His UNCONDITIONAL love will permeate to all those you encounter. Real love. How radical. People in this world need to know real love. Truth. The Cross. Jesus. Love like that!