As a man who can be rather stoic at times, I just read a soothing story and have to take a long walk with God to digest the magnitude of it. There is a wooded trail ahead that winds off into the distance. I’ll take that one and see where it goes.
I like observing nature during my walks. With the sunlight filtering through the foliage above, I can see God’s creative power everywhere. The insects. The critters scurrying in the brush. The wonderful sounds of life. Every leaf is the science of His Creation and the signature of His love. Always an interest of mine, I was a straight A student in science; we won’t talk about the rest of my public school experience.
If you talk to a physicist, he will tell you that there are four fundamental forces that hold the universe together. Those fundamental forces are gravity, electromagnetism, the strong nuclear force, and the weak nuclear force. The scientist would tell you that these forces govern the interaction between all particles and objects in the universe. He or she would insist that all the molecules and atoms of the universe are held together by these forces. Without it, nothing would matter.
But were you to talk to me, my answer would be that there is one fundamental force that holds the Universe together, and that force is Love. This force governs the interaction between each of us, and links us to our destiny. It binds families and friends together across vast distances. Mother and child. It is our bridge to God and Heaven. The framework of the cosmos is built upon it. In its truest form, it is pure and eternal, spanning the eons of time.
I figure that’s why an enemy seeks to destroy this bond. He seeks to replace love with infatuation and lust. This, in return, replaces mercy and compassion with self-absorption and greed. The enemy wants to tear humanity apart from the inside out because he knows that a magnificent love will lead to faith, and faith to obedience, and obedience to loyalty. And loyalty is our greatest gift to those whom we are devoted to.
“‘If you love Me, keep My commandments.’” John 14:15
So the enemy’s master plan is to perpetuate the sins that corrode God’s Creation, and God created Love. If he can corrupt what binds us together, then he will corrupt what binds us to God. Then all is lost.
“… That they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.” 2 Timothy 2:26
I think love is a psychological force that transcends time and matter, life and death. It is unbreakable, except by the brutalities of sin. Without love we are miserable inside. In its absence, one will eventually be driven mad. We seek it through family, friends, and even our pets. Love brings a vitality to the soul that nothing else can master. A song that only passion can sing. It has brought peace to the hearts of both prisoner and pilgrim by healing the festering wounds of distant pains and ancient shames.
In 1995, the twins, Kyrie and Brielle were born 12 weeks prematurely, each weighing just two pounds. They were each placed in separate life support incubators. One twin was not expected to survive and went into critical condition soon after. They were about to lose her. It was then that a nurse broke hospital rules by putting the healthy twin in the same incubator, next to her dying sister. Once the twins were close to each other, the dying twin snuggled up to her healthy sister, who then put her arms around her. Their incubator picture says a thousand words. Almost immediately, her vital signs stabilized, and her heart and oxygen levels normalized. Today they are strong young women.
That story really touched my heart. A timeless bond between the two. They just needed each other’s love, and they were healed. No physicist, no matter how brilliant, can explain this force. Because God is love.
As my walk through nature comes to an end, I’ve concluded that love is a gift to be shared and not feared. It dissolves callouses and seals wounds.
Love is medicinal and healing; and in the absence of sin, it is eternal.
“And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13:2–3
“And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” Matthew 24:12
