We're learning that love is sometimes given at a cost. But this shouldn't surprise us. 1 Corinthians 13:13 implies that love is of infinite value. I don't know how we could value love at anything less. After all, it is greater than either faith or hope, both of which are of extreme value themselves. 1 Peter 1:7 says that the mere "proof of [our] faith" is more precious than gold. So what must our faith itself be worth? But love is greater. Colossians speaks of "the hope laid up for you in heaven" (1:5) and "the hope of glory" (1:27). Both of those verses make hope seem like a priceless gift to be sought and cherished. But love is greater! So it just makes sense that giving away something so priceless as love might come with a cost.
Our daughter, Laura, got to learn this lesson first hand, as she went about exercising the Love Dare today. In her case, however, somebody else will pick up the biggest share of the tab. She was preparing to make supper for all of us, mostly to help take the pressure off of Karen for the day. Part of her preparation required that she make a run to the grocery store for supplies. But while there, an elderly man backed out of his parking place and hit Laura's car, leaving the driver's door unusable and throwing a wrench in Laura's afternoon plans. A retired police officer saw the accident and coached Laura through the process of exchanging names, numbers, and insurance info. Then she came home, called our insurance company and spent the afternoon running the gauntlet of calls from one company or another. The end result was three-fold: (1) the other guy's insurance will pay to fix her car, (2) supper was delicious, (Thank you, Laura!), and (3) we were all reminded that the giving of love sometimes comes at a cost.
The giving of love certainly came at a high cost to Jesus. John 13:1 puts it this way: "Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end." "The end," of course, was His death on a cross. Even as we were putting Him on the cross, "He loved [us] to the end." He accepted the cost and kept loving. That inspires me to keep going as well.
Our daughter, Laura, got to learn this lesson first hand, as she went about exercising the Love Dare today. In her case, however, somebody else will pick up the biggest share of the tab. She was preparing to make supper for all of us, mostly to help take the pressure off of Karen for the day. Part of her preparation required that she make a run to the grocery store for supplies. But while there, an elderly man backed out of his parking place and hit Laura's car, leaving the driver's door unusable and throwing a wrench in Laura's afternoon plans. A retired police officer saw the accident and coached Laura through the process of exchanging names, numbers, and insurance info. Then she came home, called our insurance company and spent the afternoon running the gauntlet of calls from one company or another. The end result was three-fold: (1) the other guy's insurance will pay to fix her car, (2) supper was delicious, (Thank you, Laura!), and (3) we were all reminded that the giving of love sometimes comes at a cost.
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