Love Love Love Love Love

Today the negativity of the world began to encroach upon me. I awoke to discussions of troubles in Washington.

D.C. not the western state.

The stimulus issue was driving everyone crazy. Apparently the Democrats hate democracy and are lazy for just trying to apply a quick fix and the Republicans hate everyone who is poor...or maybe just everyone. Thus, we are supposed to hate them all.

This morning of bitterness left me thinking about the world I live in. Thinking about the anger and cynicism that abounds. Television shows, especially sitcoms, are fueled by angry people being funny. Songs are full of angry people plotting revenge on those who have wronged them. Movies are all about angry people getting even with their world.

The news highlights the evil in the world for 27 minutes and gives us three minutes of a local good deed.

Heck, this evening I even listened to a news piece about how a group of scientists is trying to keep other scientists from giving fun names to new genes found. Yup, you read right. I bet you didn't even know that some genes have fun names. Well go learn them fast because the joy killers want them renamed to sound professional.

ANYWAY

As I pondered this angry world, I began to yearn for some love. And I decided that love has to start here. Not just here within me, but here within my community. I live in a community that is honestly very good at loving people. But I have decided we need more.

So I am issuing a challenge.

Find somebody to love. And no, I do not mean this in the formerly Jessica Biel, now Rosario Dawson, perhaps Freida Pinto, love that I have.

I mean really find someone in your world whose life you can change by loving them. This may be a co-worker. Or a classmate. Or a homeless man you pass on the street. Or a business exec you pass on the street.

Whoever it is, or if you don't have one in mind, start praying for a person to love. Unselfishly. Without reason. Just ask God to give you love to pour out. And together, let's see what that love can do.

I know, even as I write this, that it sounds a little cheesy. But I think it could be a cool experiment. In a world driven my anger, fear, and uncertainty, I think that introducing pure love is a radical move.

For me, I think, it may be a resident who is a single dad in one of my buildings. He busts his hump to provide for him and his son. I see him nearly everyday, and he is a really neat guy. And today, as I was thinking about this love experiment, he came to mind.

So I am going to pray for him. I am going to ask God to give me opportunities to show him love. I will not tell him he is a project or an experiment, because while the radical love idea somewhat is, loving a person is not. I just want to pour God's love into this guy's life, even if he never knows it is coming directly from me.

Well, you have your challenge. Find somebody to love. We all need somebody. Don't you want somebody to love? Sorry.

But seriously. Start looking in your life for who you can intentionally love on that you are not already loving. And see where God takes that love.

And of course, let us all know what He does.