"Impart your love to us...as a lived experience." (nouwen, p. 49)
I was drawn to this phrase when I read today's prayer. I began to think about how we talk a great deal about love. Certainly it is the ideal expression of the Christ-centered life. We read about love quite often in scripture, particularly in the gospel stories. Love is often a theme in the lyrics of the songs we listen to, and some even say that love "makes the world go 'round." But love is more than something we talk, read, or sing about. Love is to be a "lived experience," and according to the way Jesus loved, it recognizes no barriers, even those that stand between enemies. I John 4:20 says that we cannot say that we love God whom we have not seen, and hate our brother whom we have seen. Love as a lived experience is more easily talked about than practiced. As Nouwen puts it, "Love for one's enemy is the touchstone of being a Christian." That kind of love is indeed a work in progress for me...but then again, so is this journey to the cross.
JKA
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