Paul the Beatle, not the Apostle, on Love

Some days are tired days. You don’t sleep well, or at all. Or you have just gone too fast and too hard for too long. Either way, on those days waking up feels a lot like going to bed, trying to move through a slow descent into a hazy fog. That’s today for me. It should be fun to function. 

This morning, as I try to rev up, I ended up convincing myself to lie down on the couch, just to “watch the weather.”  And I was joined by Lola. I still work from home most everyday so the bulldogs are getting used to having me around and love it. You would think their love tanks would be full but I actually stay very busy and they don’t really get much more attention than if I left for the office. Bulldogs need a lot of love and even more reassurance that you love them and always will. They stay as close as they can to you, just in case you want to pet them, or cuddle them or boop their nose. I am certain they are fearful I will miss them if they are not touching me.

Years ago, The Beatles released their last song together on the" Abbey Road" album. The song was called, "The End." The song was mostly written by John Lennon but was tweaked by Paul McCartney who is credited with the last line, "The love you take is equal to the love you make." I beg to differ with Sir Paul. What he was trying to say in his Shakespeare like attempt at writing a couplet, was this, "You get the love you give." Not only do I disagree, so would my bulldogs. They give so much love and my love is a little more scheduled. There is a time for bulldogs and a time for work, life, sleeping, exercising...you get it. I think McCartney's sentiment was less fact and more hope. 

As I study I turn to 1 John 3:16, "This is how we’ve come to understand and experience love: Christ sacrificed his life for us. This is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers, and not just be out for ourselves. If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God’s love? It disappears. And you made it disappear." those words seem harsh. But are followed by, " My dear children, let’s not just talk about love; let’s practice real love. This is the only way we’ll know we’re living truly, living in God’s reality." (The Message, by Eugene Peterson) 

It is interesting to me that John, the disciple, apostle, friend of Jesus puts love with sacrifice. The phrase, te'-tha-me, τίθημι,  meaning to set aside or to literally lay down something. John is helping his learners to understand that loving as God would; Agape love, means to set aside our lives for the lives of another. In my world that could mean maybe working less and petting bulldogs more. In our realtime reality it means setting aside our daily life, ambitions, schedules, for the sake of others. John emphasizes that our actions speaks louder than words. It is in that I see hope. Maybe as a people, we are not ready to lay down our whole day, our whole life, for others as Christ did for us. But maybe we can begin the process.

I have no doubt of the love Lola has for me. I just hope she knows how much I love her.

Today:

• Put love in action
• Lay down something of yours for another
• Meditate on how that feels.