God is Love

The creation of man boggles me. How could any one come up with the idea of how to make us work? How could any one being come up with a concept that complex? The theme in chapel this semester is "I believe because”. I believe because random combinations could never come up with something this intense, this complex, this complete. I believe because I’ve been blessed with a creativity that defies my imagination. I believe because this world, this existence, this reality is something so thoroughly crafted, so carefully and intricately designed so that it fits together just right.

God put so much time and effort into each and every one of us. He knew each step we would have to take and shaped our feet to match the footprints we’d leave behind us. He crafted our shadows so that they would never grow too long, nor would they ever be too short. He gifted us with individual thoughts, a mind of our own that allows us to decide for ourselves whether we should follow Him or not, or if we even think He exists.

And there is where I find my proof. I believe because I have seen God’s love.
This is love: Knowing when to let go.
God created us in love, longing for relationships, and then released us to make our own choices, even though He knew the destruction we would bring on ourselves. He stood by and let us make our mistakes, and when we're looking for a helping hand so that we can stand back up, He's there waiting, loving us always and longing to heal.

God loves me and He gave me a way to reach other people. He blessed me with a talent for writing and for music. I’m so undeserving of these gifts and I’ve misused them in the past but I see now that even in misuse, God can be glorified.

Music is an amazing creation, which I all too often take for granted. It’s a daily part of my life. There’s almost always music playing in my room and I’m in choir every weekday. I sing in church on Sundays and when I’m hanging out with people on Saturdays, there’s always music involved. I love music and I love God so putting the two together is like some sort of special treat that I feel honored to receive. Even when it expresses the darkest emotion, music is just amazing and awesome because of how wonderfully it affects us, how something as simple as sound can impact us so powerfully.

Words, too, are startlingly powerful. Words are capable of turning someone’s life upside down or healing the deepest wounds. With a word, you can mend broken homes and stop a war from happening. I might be a writer of fiction, but the power of writing is still apparent in the genre. In my head, there are dozens of characters all chattering away, sometimes louder than my friend sitting next to me. I know their stories, I know their lives and their struggles and their joys and their pain. The idea that God entrusted me with these ideas, these people, so that I can help others and show them something true and right and powerful is overwhelming.

God is love. Love is God. When you love someone, you’re showing them God. So stop reading this and go love some people for me. Go love people for God. What are you waiting for?

“If music be the food of love, play on…” –Duke Orsino in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night

A writer's creed:
"Not only was the Teacher wise, but also he imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs. The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true." -Ecclesiastes 12:9-10