what is love?

"you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might."

deuteronomy 6:5

i find it fascinating (and indicative of the character of God) that God commands love above all things - not sacrifice or obedience or submission as priority. but rather, love is his top command. 

and so i ask the question: what is love?

it was in love that God chose His people (His one-way oath of grace to abram in genesis 15). it was in love that He rescued His people from egypt "to be a people of his own inheritance (deuteronomy 4:20). it was in love He preserved a remnant during the exile (isaiah 43:4) and gave lives in exchange for His chosen israel. in love God saw mankind and sent His beloved Son Jesus to die on our behalf (john 3:16). in love "He made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him" (2 corinthians 5:21). and in love Jesus is preparing a place for His beloved Bride. one day the King - Yahweh - will throw the biggest and best wedding feast of all time - the consummation of His far-reaching, ever-forgiving, all-renewing love. the good news i'm finding is that God didn't just command love and expect His people to know what He meant, making up "real love" on their own. He loved from the beginning, that His people might be loved and then love in return. 

lately i've struggled with what it means to "love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your might." but i'm finding that experiencing the true love of the Lover of my soul sets me free to love Him in radical ways as He so evidently loves us. 

oh how He loves us!

ministry week. fine arts. and the loveliness of verona.

the last two weeks have been full of new adventures. last week was the third week of a missions/evangelism class, in which we were able to help the local church in pordenone. each morning consisted of handing out tracts/church info to bars and homes for several hours, followed by lunch and riposo (italian siesta). during the afternoons we were split up into groups to either help in ESL classes sharing about our lives in america, or performing mimes (dramas) and engaging in conversations in a piazza in pordenone. i got to portray a religious person in the mimes, and one night i had the chance to explain the meaning of the mime/a brief gospel explanation through an interpreter. the week went very quickly, and we are continuing to pray for the Spirit to breathe life into those who heard the good news. 

            i definitely have been shocked by the lack of understanding of the gospel in this beautiful land. my heart is breaking for these people who have yet to hear the good news. most claim catholicism, hoping to make it to heaven on the basis of good works. if only they knew of the grace and kindness of Jesus! i am unsure what my role is in the evangelization of italy, but i am eagerly praying for God to send out laborers into the harvest.

            last weekend almost our entire class took a lovely day trip to the enchanting city of verona. it was the most beautiful sunny day, perfect for exploring the city. from walking around the arena to visiting juliet’s balcony to climbing the stairs of the bell tower to enjoying the view from an old castle, it was a day of adventures. here are a few of my favorite pictures:

the arena

juliet’s balcony

top of bell tower

top of hill from castle ruins

currently i am in a fine arts class, studying much of the art in italy before and during the renaissance. days are long sitting in six hours of class, but i am really looking forward to week two of the class – touring venice, rome, and florence to actually see much of the art we’ve been studying! more on that to come, i’m sure!

Jesus is really blessing me with strengthening relationships, but honestly it is quite hard to be far from home – especially during spring break while my family is all in florida. internet is pretty poor here, so communication with home is typically impossible – from this i am learning many lessons on trusting Abba to provide exactly what i need when i need it.

today i am loving psalm 142, taking much comfort in the honest words of david and in his confidence in the goodness of God, specifically in the last lines of the psalm. today i am thankful that God is faithful. today i am thankful that He is here.