Love Drives Out

Originally posted January 19, 2015

I am not by nature a good person. At my core there is a strand of cynicism and anger that I work hard to keep in check.

I am not by nature of loving person. I am guarded and judgmental and elitist.

I know the world is not what it should be. People are not who they should be. I am definitely not who I should be.

And I can get so cynical. So negative. And when it builds up to a breaking point, I say things and react to things in ways that I instantly regret. And I hate it. I hate hearing myself rant. Hate my sarcasm and self-congratulatory speeches and passive aggression.

And most of all, I hate that I let it slip that I am an angry, critical person.

But self-hate doesn't drive out a hateful spirit. It only redirects it, intensifies it, and holds it in- a spring-loaded trap of judgment and spite.

But Love. Love doesn't push our hatred into a dark corner, doesn't mask our cynicism. Love lights up the dark corners and tears off the masks. Love looks beyond the knee-jerk reaction of anger to see the hurt underneath.  Hatred simplifies, love humanizes.

There is darkness in the world, but into this darkness there has dawned a great light. When Love entered this world in the person of Jesus, He did not come to teach people how to keep their darkness better hidden, He came with a light that reached into even the darkest recesses of their souls. To a people grown accustomed to darkness, His unflinching, unwavering love burst on them as a terrifyingly brilliant glimpse of all the radiance of God's love.

It's easy to hate ignorance, and hatred, and violence. It's easy to sit in a dark room and complain that someone needs to turn on the light. But let's not be people who are content to point out how dark it is in the world. Let's be people who take every opportunity to let more light in.

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:21)