Christian Living

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Larry Lilly's Letter Thursday February 9, 2006

I talked with a couple recently who said they are never going to church again because they can't stand the pain. As I pursued the conversation I found that they had been hurt in a church, as a matter of fact several churches.

This does not surprise me as I too have been hurt in church and in Christian college and I suppose if there was a Christian Tavern I would have been hurt there also.

To associate with people involves a love relationship of at least shallow depth and to attempt great things requires the camaraderie of a deeper love. Marriage requires the deepest kind of love. Having said this without fear of rebuttal, I move on to the terrible tragedy of mouthing the words of an old song, famous back in the late sixties to early seventies, "I'll Never Fall In Love Again." I met the girl who made the song famous and she was at the time I met and worked with her for a few speaking engagements the spokesperson for Pet Milk. She knew Christ and testified to that fact. She remarked one time that it was foolish to 'fall' in love to start with and that any love relationship however deep or shallow should only be entered into with the sure leading of the Lord. I'll say amen to that.

Now my question to all who have been hurt and will never fall in love again, be it romantically or idealistically; Where did you ever get the idea that love at any level is painless?

Commenting on this C.S. Lewis who had his own confusion and pain, wrote:

"Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possible broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable."

Every person and everything in your life will break your heart, often several times, but if you love strong enough, you will go on to higher plateaus of love and effectiveness in life. Our concept of Jesus as the good shepherd fails to deal with just how the shepherd dealt with the lamb that was prone to wander. The shepherd would rescue the lamb a few times and then if the lamb did not quit the wandering, the shepherd would break one of the lamb's legs. During the recuperation time the lamb would become more deeply bonded to the shepherd. If this failed and the lamb went back to wandering, the herdsmen had lamb stew.

Often the things and people that break our heart are simply tools in the Master's hand to cause us to bond ever closer to Him and accomplish His great purpose in our life.

Larry Lilly Copyright © 2006 Use with credit

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