‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance.
We sang a dirge, but you did not weep.’
It is love that lifts us out of ourselves and allows us to empathize with others. It makes genuinely human connections possible.
Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep (see Romans 12:15).
There is a sense in which we all want to march to the sound of our own drummer, to dance to no music but our own. This is a partially valid instinct. It is good not to simply accept conformity for the sake of conformity, or to stifle individuality where there ought to be room for self-expression. But if we are unwilling to hear any music but our own we will find ourselves isolated, excluded from the dance, unsympathetic toward others, and without anyone who is able to feel sympathy toward us. We need to find the music that harmonizes what is deepest in us, all the many ways which we have been gifted by the Holy Spirit, with what is deepest and truest in others, and with God's good plan for the world.
Love is the harmony that lets us live in a vibrant and empathetic dance with others and with God. This does not mean love is easy in the sense of being the path of least resistance. We begin with the familiar list and read that love is patient and kind. That sounds saccharin until we try to practice it in rush hour traffic. But love is not merely a negation of negative personality traits. Rather than seeking its own interest it wills the good of the other as other. It rejoices in truth. It believes, it hopes, and it endures for the sake of the other. The truth in which it rejoices, the beliefs it cherishes, the hopes to which it clings are the sheet music that can unite diverse nations and tongues in one body, in one sacred dance.
It bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.
Although it often seems like the least reliable option when compared to brute force and manipulation love is the one thing that never fails. We can't see this with perfect clarity now. Sometimes it seems that the opposite is the case. But we know that we will one day soon when we will see that it is true.
At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror,
but then face to face.
At present I know partially;
then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.
In this present time when we see indistinctly we can still heed the music of Jesus, to let ourselves be led, to let our own songs be put in the service of love.
Sing to him a new song;
pluck the strings skillfully, with shouts of gladness.
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