We have a dozen words that could serve as synonyms for “love” in various contexts, but it is a testimony to the failure of Anglo-American culture that we still abuse the word with such ambiguity. We confuse it intentionally; we have an instinct for deception and manipulation. It’s not so much the conscious evil intent of the individual in the moment, but a cultural instinct. It’s what we do, and we cannot imagine it being wrong.
So at least in theology we have the symbol of the Cross, which holds some potential. The point being Jesus went to the Cross voluntarily, we still suffer a tremendous abuse of the image itself. People waste vast resources painting the horror of the Cross and it seems obligatory to sacrifice a lot of attention in some perverse piety. We use it to chain people, castigating those who refuse to wallow in the pity party on Christ’s behalf. That misses the whole point. You’ll notice Scripture says precious little about the literal event, but lots of words address the meaning of it as sacrifice. Jesus Himself noted He could have said “no.”
Love is patient, love is kind, it is not envious. Love does not brag, it is not puffed up. It is not rude, it is not self-serving, it is not easily angered or resentful. It is not glad about injustice, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NET)
Assuming violence has no place in love is perverse Western stupidity. This was written by the same Paul who said you have to at least ostracize people who try to disrupt the mission of the church in teaching genuine sacrificial love. Sometimes love means beating the crap out of someone because it’s the only way to stop them harming others. That’s not a failure of love but the sin nature of fallen humanity intruding on your mission. You don’t love them any less before or after the beating, but it’s a bad sign if you have to crow about it versus standing by to bind up the wounds you just gave them. Sometimes you sacrifice your own peace for the needs of others, whatever those needs may be.
Divine justice brings violence only with a deep care that restrains and guides the hands. The passion is for the message, not the bloodletting.
When you read stuff on blogs, you know only what the writer reveals, and at that, only what you can perceive. Perception is reality in the virtual world. I’ve encountered some very talented people whose ability to think and write put me to shame, including writing about Christian religion. Yet the tone of their online persona is proud and you see no evidence of binding up any wounds. Maybe you see words of going to the foot of the Cross and taking the blame for it, but nothing beyond the words to make it real. So I don’t read much of their stuff, because it’s just high art, not deep spirit.
Maybe I’m just not a good reader, but that stuff doesn’t bless me. It doesn’t call out to my shepherd instinct, the thing God built into my soul. It calls out to something else, something that steers me away from the foot of the Cross. It’s not to say they are wrong, but they aren’t helping me serve.
