Love Does

A few weeks ago I read a book that changed my life. Yes, yes, I know that I tend to lean towards the overdramatic, but I can honestly say that in a time of truly dismal happenstance this book was not only a breath of fresh air, but also an unexpected balm to my slightly broken heart.

It was 15 minutes until closing when I wandered into the bookstore in search of some desperately needed inspiration. High on the corner shelf sat the book with its bright teal cover and multi-colored balloons. LOVE DOES, by Bob Goff. As I stared up at the shelf my heart twitched a little.

“Love?” the internal monologue began with a grimace. “Where was Love when I was slandered by carefully crafted lies and my spirit was left for dead? Where was Love when I lost my job and was displaced by the church I called home? Where was Love when I realized I no longer recognized myself in the mirror?” I knew without a shadow of a doubt that this year, Love had abandoned me.

Another twitch. The title intrigued me, LOVE DOES. I couldn’t help but reach for the book to peruse the summary with a cynical eye. Right below the title sat the words, “Discover a secretly incredible life in an ordinary world.”

I scoffed in disbelief. “There is nothing incredible about my life right now. Love has scorned me.”

As a writer, a small secret part of me still believes that books can talk. Not simply the characters living within the span of their pages, but the actual compilation of bound spines and ornately colored faces. As I struggled to reign in my turbulent thoughts I heard this book call my name, plain and simple. “Kanani.”  So I answered.

I’ve been writing a lot about Love recently, chewing over tough-to-swallow bits of reality and lamenting my traitorous heart. What does it mean when Love is challenged by circumstance? At what point do you stop fighting if you see Love slipping away? How do you fight back if your Love is stolen from you? Where do you turn if the voice of Love is silent in the face of pain, shame and doubt? How do you recover if Love is betrayed by itself?

But even after pondering circumstance after circumstance, I’ve never once made an attempt to define Love.

In his book, Bob Goff shares his belief that, “Love takes action.” Love doesn’t just stop at thoughts or feelings, Love doesn’t posture or delude, Love doesn’t supply empty platitudes or false promises, “it pursues blindly, unflinchingly, and without end.” Simply put, “Love Does.”

This small and simple revelation changed my life.

When I stood in that bookstore and grappled with my own feelings of pain and inadequacy. I forgot that Love is not stationary. My love-quota had been reduced to a pile of dangerously smoldering ashes, and the raging fire of my spirit had finally been doused to the point of darkness.

As I devoured word after word after word of Bob’s “secretly incredible life,” I was reminded of the simple truth I had somehow forgotten. My God IS Love (1 John 4:8). I am loved by a force that is as unyielding as Bob described, by a power so pure and true that it surpasses my understanding and is born anew day after day.

Dear ones, and so are you. In a world that sometimes appears love-less, lonely and lost, you and I are loved by Love daily, (whether we know it or not). And that same Love calls us to action to share that abiding JOY with everyone that our lives touch. Beloved, you have the power to take action and make someone’s ordinary world extraordinary. Because Love doesn’t just sit around feeling sorry for itself. Love doesn’t gossip, Love doesn’t allow itself to get caught up in politics or drama. Love doesn’t just “talk the talk.” 

Simply put, “Love Does.”

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“We love because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)