Love, the greatest commandment

          When I do you wrong, it wounds me. When I do right by you, it edifies me. I'm not a people-pleaser but I do have a spirit of love. It wars with the vestiges of a hostile state of mind, now void of emotion yet still vocal out of habit; speaking harsh truths and blatant lies. I'd been tossing around, and even started on, some ideas for months now but this one feels right. It makes sense that I would come back to the core of what I am, love.
          My name means "one who is like God". Considering my spiritual nature, the full potential of what I can be in Him, the name makes sense. He is love. He is passionate. That is what I am, what I want and should be. But that's not always what I reflect and it feels wrong when I don't. All of His commandments can be summed up in one thing, love. "Love the Lord with all your heart, all your soul and all your might." "Love your neighbor as yourself." These are not passive actions; love is more than a feeling. It is that desire that turns into action. You have so much love, you want to do right by God and those around you.
          There's so much love, you can't help but let it overflow and pour it into others. His love fills you up; it saturates every part of you and who you are. You are lost in it. You are no longer yourself but a single drop in His vast ocean, within you, you in it and all around you. You are so far beneath the surface you don't see anything else and can only be carried by the deep currents. He will take you to where you should be.
          That is who He is; what we are, having been made in His image. Who are we to deny that?

Compassion in the face of hatred and ignorance

          I was reading Acts 6 and 7 this morning. I want to specifically talk about what happened at the end of chapter 7. Stephen was an early Christian. He was spreading the gospel and all that jazz. These Jews from "the Synagogue of Freedom" (this is rather ironic, come to think of it) didn't really like what Stephen was doing and accused him of blasphemy. He was arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin (which, as I understand is a sort of religious ruling council).
          When asked about the accusations, Stephen recounts a story all Jews were intimately familiar with: a brief history of Abraham through Joseph and the Exodus. He point out how they are just as stubborn and closed-minded as their ancestors. The council got really angry about this "When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. "Look," he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." " (Acts 7:54-56, NIV). They covered their ears at this (can you believe it?!) and dragged him out to be stoned.
          This is the part I am really astounded by: While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep. (59 and 60). Even in the face of death, he showed compassion and begged for mercy on their behalf. How many of us would be so loving and compassionate to those who would harm us, those who are so against us it would only be natural to resent them. Stephen didn't curse them or anything like that. Could we do the same?