Lovingkindess

It’s February and love is in the air!  Our calendars tell us that when February 14th comes, it is time to express our love to one another.  But what about the other 364 days of the year?  How we act towards one another on February 13th, 15th and beyond matters too.  Jesus told his followers that the greatest command was to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength; and the second is like it - to love others as we love ourselves.

A word that has repeatedly captured my attention in Scripture over the last couple of years is the Hebrew word hesed, which expresses God’s lovingkindness towards us.  It describes God’s love as steadfast and loyal, and as action-oriented in his care and compassion for us.  It is not dependent upon our actions or behavior, but instead is rooted in who He is.  God IS love.  He is good, kind, compassionate and patient, and His actions always move from this posture of love towards His children.

“The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.”

Psalm 103:8 ESV

The work of transformation and sanctification is meant to return us more and more into who God created us to be in the first place - people who reflect His image.  We are created to be people motivated by love.  In Adele Calhoun’s book, Invitations from God, she describes the invitation to practice the presence of people as the invitation to see people through the eyes of Jesus.  She says, “Loving the Lord your God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself is all about learning to see past the judgment of badness to the Creator’s desire for this person.  It may take time and a lot of looking, but it is how we practice the presence of people.  We give them our attention and ask for clarity to see them as Jesus did.  We ask to recognize their needs as quickly as we recognize our own.”

So as we move past Valentine’s Day, may we be challenged to love others by  “practicing their presence.”  What does that look like?  Often when we speak of “practicing presence” we are referencing the felt sense of God’s presence with us.  Just as practicing the presence of God often requires us to slow down, become silent and perhaps to even become still, practicing the presence of people requires the same sort of intention and focus.  When we spend time with others, are we really all there?  Do we look in their eyes and listen wholeheartedly? 

Practicing the presence of people exercises our lovingkindness muscle.  It stretches us beyond our human abilities into dependency on the Spirit of God.  Prayer is a fundamental way to prepare ourselves to walk in the way of love.  There is a beautiful prayer practice called the Lovingkindness Meditation that I have personally found very helpful.  In this time of prayer, we first ground ourselves in the love of God.  Next, we recognize our desire for happiness, safety, health and peace - praying these things over ourselves.  We move on to praying these things over those we love, then those that challenge us (remember Jesus’ command to love our enemies?), and finally over all beings. After this practice, you are likely to experience a great sense of peace and a softer heart inclined towards compassion for others.  I invite you to give it a try! Head on over to my prerecorded meditation here.

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