What’s Love Got To Do With It?

This sort of entails some of my thoughts on MLK Day and the day after, along with a couple of dreams…

Early one morning, about a year after my dad died, just as I was waking up, I had a vision of my dad's head and face, sort of a close up with a slight profile. It came up on the left side, facing to the right and then moving across to the center and then to the right side, like a film being played in front of me. I was aware of other faces appearing and disappearing in the background and sometimes about the same level as his. And the last one ended on the right facing left. As my mind was trying to identify the last person, my mind said "a king? a warrior? a statesman?".

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Upon waking all the way, I knew the face had been that of Martin Luther King Jr. I felt like the vision was letting me rest assured that my dad was ok and in a safe place, with Jesus and among the great cloud of witnesses surrounding us mentioned in Hebrews 12:1.

I have been on a quest of finding a balance and peace in my life, and a learning how to accept myself and my past and therefore be able to live life more affectively. To live knowing that I am loved by God and not to live ruled by fears. And here this verse also says "let us also lay aside every weight (everything that hinders) and the sin that so easily entangles (and clings to) us, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us."

I felt very encouraged and like God was strengthening me to keep on being a God-seeker with my life, but I also kept wondering what Martin Luther King had to do with it all. During the day, I felt inclined to go look through a stack of books that I had inherited from my dad, so eventually I did just that and discovered a book of sermons by Martin Luther King. The first one was about Love, and so was the jest of the other sermons. I knew I had found a clue. Later, telling my mom about this, she said that my dad preached love. That he liked Martin Luther King and everywhere he preached, he preached on unity and love, especially in the body of Christ.

I know that Jesus said He loved me, but it is so hard to really get that as a reality inside of us. I know that my dad lived with fear, low self-esteem, and slight depression over the years, and that is what I have struggled with as well. I know the Bible says "perfect love cast out all fear", but how do you obtain perfect love? I know it's found only in Him, but how do you absorb it into you to take root and actually become part of you, where you don't doubt His love any more or where you don't react in fear?

So this has been my quest, and my journey. And God has met me and led me every step of the way. Bringing people, books, programs on tv, music, special services, work, recovery programs, every part of my life to speak to me of His true love and acceptance. Tearing and cutting away old entanglements of fears – doubt and unbelief – hurts, pain and betrayal, abandonment – failures, neglect and just plain weariness. Later in that same chapter, Hebrews 12, verse 12-14 says "Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed."

"Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble."

Right now, I am ending this here, but will post a continuation in a few days, the subject…? Accepting His love and understanding the difference between the discipline of works and the discipline of grace!