Love Believes All Things

Cynicism is self-imported blindness, a rejection of the world because we are afraid it will hurt us or disappoint us. ~Stephen Colbert

What Every Cynic Knows

Even silver linings have their clouds,

the light? An oncoming train.

The lemonade made with life-tossed lemons

will be watered-down by rain.

And the rainbow that soon follows

is just the calm before the battle,

Dark’s longed-for dawn just reveals the truth–

you’re up a creek without a paddle. 

Jesus circles the foot-deep brick walls of self-defense you’ve built around your heart. He reads the motto you’ve carefully cross-stitched and hung over the doorway:

Better to believe the worst, for the worst is sure to happen.

He finds a door–the one you forgot to cement over. It’s small, but he can stoop. A soft knock, you barely hear it, but your heart is claustrophobic, and longs for more generous spaces. With a skeptical shrug, you open the door a crack, and barely hear his words.

“Will you trust me? Will you allow yourself to believe the best can happen? Will you give me the benefit of your doubt, and say “yes” to all I am?

 Love Believes All Things

It is right and good that we, for all things, at all times and in all places, give thanks and praise to you, O God.

We worship you, we confess to you, we praise you, we bless you, we sing to you, and we give thanks to you:

Maker, Nourisher, Guardian, Healer, Lord, and Father of all.

You are the Fountain of Life, the Treasure of everlasting goods to whom the heavens sing praise–all the angels and heavenly powers, crying out to one another–while we, the weak and unworthy join with them singing:

“Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts, the whole earth is full of the majesty of your glory.”

Blessed be the glory of the Lord for his Godhead, his mysteriousness, his sovereignty, his almightiness, his eternity, and his providence.

The Lord is my strength, my strong rock, my defense, my deliverer, the horn of my salvation, and my refuge. Amen

Lancelot Andrews (1555-1626)

Is Jesus inviting you to believe, to risk it all on his promises?

This is post eleven of our Lent To Love: A Return to the Source series on 1 Corinthians 13. Join us on the journey to Easter! Scroll up, look right to subscribe to e-mail.

 Photograph by Melanie Hunt