Love Transforms Sorrow into Joy

This past week, 20 of us from Hands at Work came together daily to do readings from a book called Behold His Love written by Basilea Schlink. The book was heavy but it really pushed for a deeper contemplation and reflection about the events that led up to Jesus crucifixion and resurrection. As the week progressed I was deeply convicted as I came face to face with the dark places hidden inside my own heart. At the same time, I was reminded of how immense God’s love is for me despite my failings....and in that how His grace, forgiveness and unconditional love is not for me to hold onto and keep for myself, but is for me to give freely to all those around me.  Below are some quotes which I loved from the book as well as some personal reflections that came out during the week.

·      “Because of Jesus sacrifice for us on the cross, Hell was forced to discover that the power of love is invincible. Love could be attacked, betrayed, forsaken and disappointed. Love could be hated, ridiculed, slandered and scorned. Love could be sentenced to death and made to bear a heavy cross. Love was assaulted by all these enemies, but love is stronger than all of them. Jesus’s love took them captive. The more they beat him, the more glorious and victorious was the radiance of his love.

·      “The wounds of Christ’s body, the Church (you and me) can only be healed by LOVE.” - Not the love that the world talks about, the easy, 'feel good love', it’s the kind of love that sacrifices and changes our hearts to put others before ourselves. The kind of love that endures, demands humility and suffers with others when they are suffering. It is the kind of love that cannot come from our strength alone…to love like this we must daily lay our lives down for Christ and CHOOSE to do his will. “When we are at one with God, because our wills are surrendered to him, in LOVE, the enemy is powerless.” We will then be able to truly love our enemies…and even “if we receive wounds on the way, we will be prepared to bear them because we can only heal the wounds in Christ’s body, by bearing our own wounds.”

·        "Strength arises out of weakness; light out of darkness…suffering together in LOVE is the strongest bond of unity. Should it not be victorious? It will indeed be victorious, even in apparent defeat. When the GOD OF LOVE was taken captive, we were set FREE.”

Psalm 103

¹ Let  all that I am praise the Lord;
with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.
² Let all that I am praise the Lord;
may I never forget the good things he does for me.
³ He forgives all my sins
and heals all my diseases.
⁴ He redeems me from death
and crowns me with love and tender mercies.
⁵ He fills my life with good things.
My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!

⁶ The Lord gives righteousness
and justice to all who are treated unfairly.

⁸ The Lord is compassionate and merciful,
slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
⁹ He will not constantly accuse us,
nor remain angry forever.
¹⁰ He does not punish us for all our sins;
he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.
¹¹ For his unfailing love toward those who fear him
is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.
¹² He has removed our sins as far from us
as the east is from the west.
¹⁵ Our days on earth are like grass;
like wildflowers, we bloom and die.
¹⁶ The wind blows, and we are gone—
as though we had never been here.
¹⁷ But the love of the Lord remains forever
with those who fear him.

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