So I for the couple of you that have read what I have written you know that I always seem to write about love in some sense and through some random thought, and so I have been thinking that maybe I should find a new topic. But, alas, I cannot move on quite yet, and so here we go again.
Inspired by that movie over there (if you haven't seen it, drop what you are doing and go) I have been thinking about love and the great power it has. If you haven't seen Les Mis, there is a powerful line towards the end where you hear "to love another person is to see the face of God." Being who I am and constantly being fearful of a watering down of an understanding of God's presence and Love, I have always been skeptical (you might use a more harsh word) of this line. Recently, though, I have been thinking more about it (largely inspired by this wonderful podcast ) and realized that there is an amazing truth here.
What they talk about in the podcast is simple-Scripture tells us (in 1John 4, one of my favorite chapters in the whole Bible) that if you love another person you will abide in God and God will abide in you, which is awesome. Les Mis shows us this same idea by using the idea of the face of God-will we immediately see a flash of light and see His face? Most likely not (I don't like saying anything is 100% for sure, because in my experience, however brief, the Lord is full of surprises). We will, however, learn to see Him in the way we were meant to on Earth-in His creation-and then come to see Him forever one day in eternity.
In today's world we are so transfixed on a romantic, candlelight kind of love that forget the truth of love, the truth that love shouldn't always be easy, shouldn't always be fun, and shouldn't always make us feel good. Rather, the truth is that love oftentimes resembles the cross more than it does anything mainstream media has thrown in our face. We are taught to believe that if we have love (read: mushy feelings) then we don't have to worry about sacrificing, struggling, and feeling pain (read: true love). In reality, our search for love can only be fulfilled when we find the infinite, when we exchange our constantly fleeting and always temporal feelings for a person of Love who will not leave.
Les Misérables shows a profound view of love, and yet most of the movie feels like pain and suffering-our modern sensibilities tell us to reject this as love. The "wisdom" of today says that if you feel this sort of pain, if you ever have to sacrifice or suffer, you should look elsewhere, look somewhere to find pleasure and joy, not sacrifice. And yet, the wisdom of today has left a society broken and suffering, with a world confused and families constantly seeking healing. This wisdom, it seems, is not wise at all; it is, instead, quite foolish. All of the wisdom that we need is contained in Love Himself, crying out to us from the cross:
"I love you, I forgive you, and I will never let you go." Give His love, the love of Him who is Love incarnate, a chance, and let Him show you what it truly is to love another person and see His face.
So is the line in Les Mis correct? Sure it is. If we reach out in our brokenness and pain in love for one another, we will come to know His pain, and His mercy and love will surround us and those we encounter in love. That is the face of God-persevering in love thru our brokenness and trusting in Him who is Love through everything.
Jesus I trust in you.
