What Kind of Love Can Really Change the World?

by Joan Bisset 01-19-2009

What a moment it was on Saturday at the War Memorial Plaza in Baltimore as President-elect Barack Obama heard a woman shouting in the crowd, “We love you, Obama!” and he answered, “I love you back.” He responded to her in the middle of his oratory about the sacrifices of our Founding Fathers. That evening, as my husband and I were in a restaurant, people at the table next to us were talking about that moment. And, again at church this morning, a woman said to me that it was that exchange that was the most touching moment for her during President-elect Obama’s train-ride from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C.

On Sunday, watching the “We are One” concert on the National Mall, as Bono sang “In the Name of Love,” I wondered if the world could begin to change if we were able to begin to live together in the name of love. Can we begin to see all the people around us as people to love and to actually say to each other, “I love you,” and “I love you back.” Can we keep proclaiming “We are one?”

Bono went on to say: “This is not just an American dream, but also an Irish dream, a European dream, an African dream … an Israeli dream and a Palestinian dream.”

What defines the kind of love that can change the world is not just gushy or sentimental, but rather the kind of love that is described in 1 Corinthians 13:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoice with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never falls.

Ultimately, I think only as we live with each other in this world, with that kind of love, will we be able to address the problems of racism, poverty, war, and the misuse of our natural resources. Real change will need to be based in a change of heart where we are transformed to love our neighbors and all of humanity in word and deed.

Humanity has been created in the image of God – the God who is love. We have the opportunity to reflect and live that love with fellow human beings – to learn to say and mean “I love you,” and hear and accept “I love you back.”

so you couldn't change the world from L.A....change it here.


you can choose to blame your circumstances on fate, bad luck or bad choices....or you can fight back.

the rest of your life is being shaped right now with the dreams you chase, the dreams you make and the person you decide to be.

a lot of times in life you're going to be afraid. being afraid is ok, but if you don't work through that fear, you might miss out on a lot of good things.

my life starts now.
it's my life i'm taking a stand.

-oth

early morning.

Freedom. Freedom to use my talent for good. Freedom to turn my back on my old way of life. Freedom to wake up each day. Freedom to go and do what I want, where I want. Freedom to express myself. Freedom to learn from my mistakes. Freedom to have grace and show it to others. Freedom to serve my God completely, using the talents He has given me. Freedom to be myself, completely sure of who I am and what I want to represent. Freedom.

paul said it like this: As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work. We pray that you'll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us.

midway through, this is what i've come up with:

"Yet I am always with you. You hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you." Psalm 73:23-25

God's time is not my time. He will provide for my daily bread and I can live in peace for Him to do that. I praise through all things. And when I hurt Him, he still loves me. I am his child.

--

end of day 2, here it is:

There's an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth:

A right time for birth and another for death,
A right time to plant and another to reap,
A right time to kill and another to heal,
A right time to destroy and another to construct,
A right time to cry and another to laugh,
A right time to lament and another to cheer,
A right time to make love and another to abstain,
A right time to embrace and another to part,
A right time to search and another to count your losses,
A right time to hold on and another to let go,
A right time to rip out and another to mend,
A right time to shut up and another to speak up,
A right time to love and another to hate,
A right time to wage war and another to make peace.

This is my time. My God-given time. He brought me here. He will use me here. Today I learned it's my time.

the 3 questions I have come up with:

what makes my soul sing?
what are the talents God has given me?
how can I use them in a way that will serve others and Him?

Today is day 1/3 of a time with God. Granted, I spend time with God everyday, but this is a time of intense focus and prayer. A time to see what God wants out of me in 2009 and how I can show His love by my example (my New Year's Resolution). I've never done this before so it will be interesting. A lot of things are coming to my mind, or should I say, being placed in front of me. I've learned a lot about my actions and thoughts in 2008. I've learned about grace and I've learned about love.

Renewing. Rethinking. Reworking. Reforming.
day by day. hour by hour. living in the present.