Living In Love

 “Think with your heart. Love with your brain.”

So, I have this black water bottle that I take everywhere I go. At the time, when I ordered it, black seemed like the right choice considering it’s my favorite color.

The problem with this choice? If I’m not mindful of where I set it down, it can easily disappear in the shadows. Sometimes it requires searchlights to find.

I have been known to tear the house apart looking for it even though I have also learned it’s usually right out in the open.

For example, the last time I lost it, it miraculously appeared right before my very eyes; sitting on the kitchen counter next to a black hoodie.  Go figure.

 In the same way, some of us will tear our life apart to find what God wants us to do, even though it’s right here, in plain sight.  The bible is full of directives. Take the prophet Micah for example.
 
He makes it clear that “God has shown you what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8) That's it. It’s not a riddle, or puzzle to figure out. It’s just this: Love. Justice. Mercy. Humility. And Jesus, narrows the list down to “Love God, and love your neighbor as you want to be loved.”
 
As we pick up from where we left off in our study of Ephesians, Paul continues to awaken our Christ consciousness. Today he offers this:

Be careful, then, how you live, not as unwise people but as wise,   making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to one another, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ...                        Ephesians 5:15-20

'Coming on the heels of last week’s invitation to let your Christ light shine, Paul reminds us to be mindful of how we live. If we are the light of Christ, then take what you know about Christ and shine. Let this knowledge be the wisdom that guides you.
 
Last week Paul gave us this imperative: “Find out what is pleasing to the Lord.” Today, he says don’t just find out, but understand “what the will of the Lord is.”
 
Paul isn’t asking you to figure out some great master plan that God has in store for you. God’s plan, as Micah stated is simply this: Love. If you love God, you’ll love one another. If you love one another, you’ll be kind and merciful to everyone. And your humble heart will reflect Christ’s light, and God’s great glory.
 
This is every encounter Jesus has. He shows love to the outcasts. Mercy to those who are unable to help themselves. He even bends down and washes his disciple’s feet to show us how to be humble.

Jesus is the perfect example for us to know how to live out the will of God in real time. In real ways.
 
So, Paul warns us to be mindful of how we live. If we’re not busy loving, God’s will for us can get lost, or misplaced. Instead of getting drunk on wine, he tells us to get filled with the Spirit. If God’s Spirit is love, then let love be the thing that intoxicates you. Be so filled with the Spirit that it spills out of you everywhere you go.
 
Paul also says, “Be wise; make the most of your time.”

​Richard Rohr describes wisdom as, “learning to see as God sees, which always means seeing with love.” This tells me God’s will is less about mental intelligence and more about emotional awakening.
 
As my mentor Fr. Anderson taught me, “Think with your heart. Love with your brain.” You don’t need to know all the right answers. Just know what matters most to God. And live your life as if it's a form of worship. “Making melody to the Lord with your whole heart.”
 
This isn’t about performing elaborate rituals or grand gestures. It’s about seeing the world with the eyes of a compassionate heart. It’s about welcoming everyone with justice, mercy, and humility. Being generous with one another, as God is generous with you.
 
Victor Hugo so beautifully reminds us that, “To love another person is to see the face of God.” If you want to know what God looks like, or what God’s will for you is then you need to look no further than the person next to you.
 
Continuing to draw from Micah: Jesus teaches us something important about God’s justice. In his parable of the workers in the vineyard, Jesus sa

ys a landowner goes out to hire folks to pick grapes. Each person agrees on a salary and gets to work. This happens multiple times throughout the day, as there is more work than workers. Now here’s the twist…despite showing up at different times in the day, each worker gets the same paycheck.
 
That’s what justice looks like in the kingdom of heaven. It’s rooted in God’s grace, not our effort. It’s about making sure everyone gets what they need to thrive. Making sure no one is left out or forgotten. This is why we are to show God’s mercy to one another.
 
Mercy isn’t just feeling bad for someone. It’s moving toward them in love. A man with leprosy approaches Jesus and says, “If you choose, you can make me clean.”
 
Jesus sees the man with a compassionate heart and meets him where he is…embracing him saying: “I do choose.”
 
Choosing to act with compassion is a holy act of worship.
 
This is what God’s wants from us. Then when Jesus heals the leper, he humbly asks the man not to tell anyone about who did it. He knows he’s not the center of the story—God is.  And what is God's story? The greatest love story ever written.

 
I think if we want to be wise, if we want to do the will of God, then we need to see the world through God’s eyes. This is how we make the most of our time - living each day filled with the Spirit, giving thanks to God.
 
Why does this matter? Like Paul says the world is evil. It uses fear to gain power and control others. Fear is not just. Nor is it merciful. It’s certainly not humble.

But like Jesus shows us, love is the antidote to fear. Just as hate begets more hate, love begets more love. What's the most common side effect of kindness? More kindness. The same is true about mercy and grace.
 
Instead of just talking about loving God, others, and serving both—just do it. For “The real symbol of God is not power over others,” writes Elizabeth Johnson, “it’s love poured out for others.”

True worship is love in action. But it takes a willing heart.
 
A while back I saw a man in the park getting hassled for sleeping on the bleachers. Two dads, there for their kids’ game, were yelling nasty and degrading things at the guy to get him to leave. I don’t know what made me do it, but I went up to those dads and told them, “He could be any of us.”
 
One of them got up in my face and screamed, “You calling me a bum?” I simply said, “No. And I’m not calling him one either.” Then I reminded them, “We’re all someone’s son.”
 
As they rolled their eyes and walked away, I sat down next to the guy, while Cali loved on him. All he could say was, “Thank you for seeing me.” Faith isn’t a spectator sport. It’s how we participate in the redemptive work of the kingdom of heaven.
 
If you want to know God’s will, Mother Theresa would say, listen to the cries of your neighbor—and respond. "Each one of them is Jesus in disguise." So, love one another accordingly. Love is not a whispered thought. Or something left for saints to do. Love is something we must all become.
 
Jesus embraced his Christlikeness and lived as the very manifestation of God’s love, in the flesh. As we continue to build a community of love in the space between, may God’s way always be our guide and blueprint, shaping our actions, our purpose, and our very being. For “The best way to say, ‘I love God’ is by loving what God loves.” (Rohr)
 
May we never lose sight of this, but keep out in the open, right here in plain sight for the whole world to see.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Work Cited:
Johnson, Elizabeth A. She Who Is: The Mystery of God in Feminist Theological Discourse. New York: Crossroad, 1992.
Rohr, Richard. The Universal Christ: How a Forgotten Reality Can Change Everything We See, Hope For, and Believe. New York, NY: Convergent Books, 2019.