God’s Love is a Problem Solver

Today’s reading: 1 John 4:7-12

I spent at least 2 hours today trying to reason with my cell phone company’s representatives. Some of the policies they were required to enforce are downright abusive , and several of the people I talked to said they agreed with me, in principal.

“But there’s really nothing I can do,” I heard several times. “That’s just our policy.”

This, combined with several other frustrations of a very busy day, left me with the idea I’ve had many times before:

I can always count on people to do the wrong thing, I thought. I should never bet against greed, laziness, selfishness or any other sin.  I am powerless against the corruption of others.

Wow. How silly can one get?

I finally gave up with the cell phone company and found my way to The Bible to study today’s reading. (An overload of work this week has pulled me out of my usual routine of morning Bible study for the past two days. Satan, I am too blessed to be fooled in that way for long!)

“Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another.  No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.” (Verses 11-12)

Pondering these lines, I realized the torture Jesus suffered was far more traumatic than an unfair charge from a cell phone company. Yet He and his Father simply loved the perfect love.

What a revelation!

As soon I decided to start loving with God again, the day took a delightful turn. I went on to my next errand, but I was determined to do this one differently.

I  loaded  a brand-new-but-already-broken lawn mower into my truck and headed back to the store where I’d bought it. This time, I told myself, I’m going to trust that the people I meet at the store love God as much as I do and, therefore, will be excited to serve me fairly.

Sure enough. I’ve been to that store hundreds of times in just this year alone, and I’ve never seen the employees so happy. I thought, perhaps, the store had just reached some business milestone, and celebrations were in force.  I asked around, to see what the fuss was all about, and 2-3 employees seemed confused.

“No, nothing’s going on. I guess we’re all just happy today,” one woman said.

This clerk and two other friendly men then took a deep interest in my broken mower.  And 5 minutes later, we all laughed at the silly mistake I’d made as I tried to assembled the machine.

We started up the mower — one of the men even donated a little gas from back of his personal pick-up for the purpose —  and the engine’s purr was glorious to behold.

So it seems I made two silly mistakes today. The first one was a spiritual error. I simply forgot to love with God. When I finally corrected that, forgiveness for the second one came quickly and easily — with a little laughter to boot.

Thanks be to God for His eternal love. May I always remember to keep it flowing through me.