Pastor Stickman's first sermon, his first Sunday after inadvertantly outing himself. Quite a contrast to some of the things which he said previous to that point in time. Now he can be more open, more honest.
Love. Period.
What do you think? Is there something more to say?
Do you want to qualify love in some way? Put conditions or limits on it?
Previous pastor stickman cartoon
Isn't that so true..how quickly I rush in my minds to qualify and put limits on open ended commands.
ReplyDeleteI'm reading "Falling Upward" by Richard Rohr right now and he talks of the need for both conditional and unconditional love in our development as humans.
"The voice of our loyal soldier gets us through the first half of life safely, teaching us to look both ways before we cross the street, to have enough impulse control to avoid addictions and compulsive emotions, to learn the sacred 'no' to ourselves that gives us dignity, identity, direction, significance and boundaries. We must learn these lessons to get off to a good start! It is far easier to begin life with a conservative worldview and respect for traditions. It gives you an initial sense of 'place' and is much more effective in the long run, even if it just gives you 'a goad to kick against' (Acts 26:14)
Without a loyal soldier protecting us up to age thirty...we would all be aimless and shapeless, with no home base and no sustained relationships,because there would be no 'me' at home to have a relationship with.
Paradoxically, your loyal soldier gives you so much security and validation that you may confuse his voice with the very voice of God... The loyal soldier is the voice of all your early authority figures. His or her ability to offer shame, guilt, warnings, boundaries and self-doubt is the gift that never stops giving.
The loyal soldier cannot get you to the second half of life. He does not even understand it. He has not been there. He can help you 'get through hell', with the early decisions that demand black-and-white thinking: but then you have to say good-bye when you move into the subtlety of midlife and later life."
pages 45-47
So I think it depends where you're at in life whether you want to/need to jump quickly to qualify love or whether you resist the urge to and instead take the mysterious journey ahead and see what happens when you simply love. period.