Biblical Love

This is a picture taken in Guatemala and shared with me by Edward Fudge. I received it this week while my oldest son Robbie was in Guatemala on a short term medical mission trip. Today he is flying home to Savannah, GA where he will report on the adventure to his wife who has been anxiously awaiting his return. When we talked with Kelly (Robbies wife) this week we could sense her loneliness as she experienced her first Valentine's Day as a wife with her husband in another country. It made me wonder about what we learn when we are forced to endure hardship or separation in our lives.

Perhaps we can begin to understand what God went through when he sent his son to earth and then to the cross! The agony of that separation was given voice when Jesus cried out on the cross, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" that is "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" Matthew 27:46 (ESV) While being apart for Valentine's Day doesn't begin to compare with what took place at Golgotha, it does force us to recognize that it is often difficult to do something that will be a benefit to others. It is costly to show love. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:7 (ESV) "Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." God provided us with an example of that kind of love when He sent His son, and we grow in our understanding of divine love when we have to bear, believe, hope and endure all kinds of things, like separation from loved ones at inconvenient times.

My wife and I prayed for Robbie while he was away, and for Kelly while she waited over Valentine's Day for his return. We will be praying today as Robbie travels back from Guatemala to Savannah. We will also pray as our son David, and his wife Marianne, are traveling in southeast Asia today. But our prayers, offered as an act of love and obedience, will not inform God, who already knows where they are and loves them, as only He can!