Unconquered Territory (3)

Cast cords of love around my heart, then hold me and never let me go.

May the Saviour’s wounds sway me more than the sceptre of princes.

Let me love thee in a love that covers and swallows up all,

That I may not violate my chaste union with the beloved;

There is much unconquered territory in my nature,

Scourge out the buyers and sellers of my soul’s temple,

And give me in return, pure desires,

And longing after perfect holiness.  

The Valley of Vision, edited by Arthur Bennett, Banner of Truth, page 345.

Let me love thee in a love that covers and swallows up all…

One of the many things I love about swimming in the ocean is the experience of entering a vast body of water, vast beyond my comprehension, and yet for the few minutes I am in it I am momentarily a part of it. When I’m in the ocean I envision myself immersed in the love of God, I contemplate His great love for me, for us - it gives me an amazing peace.

Paul’s desire for the Ephesians (3:14 - 21) was that they would be “rooted and grounded in love” and that they would “comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.” To be rooted in the love of God, to know the love of Christ - this is to be filled with all the fullness of God - this is to abide in the Trinity and to know the Trinity abiding in us. As the ocean covers and swallows up all that is in it, so does the above prayer desire that our love for God cover our existence, for as we receive His love as an ocean we can return that love to Him and share it with others.

Jesus (John 13:34-35) said the the distinguishing characteristic of His followers would be the love they have for one another. John writes (1 John 4:7), “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.” Jesus said (John 15:9), “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in my love.” We are loved with the love of the Trinity, and as we receive we are to give; give back to God, and give to others.

The love that Paul writes of in 1 Corinthians Chapter 13 is the love of God living in His people. The placement of this passage is deliberate, it serves as the core of Paul’s discussion of the Body of Christ, of life in the church, life together - it energizes chapters 12 and 15 - animating Paul’s teaching on church life and worship.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

I want love to cover my life as the waters cover the sea; I want to love God like that, I want to love others like that. I think there have been times I’ve paid lip service to 1 Corinthians Chapter 13, there have been times I’ve actually functionally disagreed with it.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

The fact is there have been many times I’ve been more concerned about being “right” than loving, there have been times I’ve cared more for “knowledge” than for love. While I love the thought-world, the world of intellect and reasoning and understanding, I have been slow to realize that Paul was right - without love all that we “know” doesn’t really mean a thing.

While I have learned many things from many people, the people I’ve known that have been the most “other” than me are not the ones who know more (of which there are myriad), but rather the ones who have lived lives of love, who exemplify 1 Corinthians Chapter 13. Those are the ones who humble me, those are the ones beyond my experience, beyond my understanding - and isn’t that the way it should be since the love they exhibit is the love of God?

The prayer I pray every morning is that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit will teach me to love them with all that I have and all that I am, with all of my heart, mind, soul, and strength; and to love my neighbor as myself. Whatever I may not know intellectually can probably wait until I leave this earth, before too long I’ll have those questions answered - but I don’t want to wait to learn how to love God and others.

What about you?