Rhythms of Grace

Pre-emptive love.

The act of loving first, asking questions later. A childlike love- an innocent five-year-old looking up at a complete stranger, wonder glimmering in their eyes as they instinctively love others before asking questions… until their cautious mothers swiftly grab their chubby little wrists and drag them away. And so, the cycle begins. We catch a glance of those we know absolutely nothing about, and quick as a flash, we judge them, our view of them already stained by the story we attach to them before they have even said a word.

Is this fair? No. Let’s make the decision to FIRST love and then ask questions. And then not to stop loving them even when they don’t meet up to our expectations or aren’t what the world says is “lovable”.

The fact is, that we are all able to access a Love that endures despite our shortcomings, despite not being very lovable, not looking the part or maybe smelling like a rose garden. This Love is never ending, all-encompassing and absolutely free- we just have to accept it. This Love’s name is Jesus. As He sacrificed His life so that we could find not only LOVE but freedom and an eternity spent with Him.

So why should we, when we aren’t even deserving of love ourselves, get to dictate whether or not someone else is worth our love? The answer is, we shouldn’t. We are called to love like Jesus and ultimately to lead people to Him.

“We love because He first loved us”- 1 John 4:19

What other option do we have other than to love after what was done for us on the cross?

We love because that’s what Jesus tells us to do:

“Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.’ This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ These two commands are pegs; everything in God’s Law and the Prophets hangs from them.”- Matthew 22:37-40

And at the end of the day, we love because the reward for loving those who are not easy to love far outlasts any earthly reward.

“But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great” – Luke 6:32-35

Therefore, I make the decision to love, with all of the messy fragmented parts of myself, to love without the warped filter of the world. To love purely and whole-heartedly. I choose to love those who are different, those who are broken and those who the world does not love, but those who Jesus wants me to love. I hope that you will join me x

Matilda xo