Freed by Love

Are you wearing the right clothes? Are you allowing others to see past your tattered overcoat of a turbulent life? If you clothe yourself with love, you’ll never be ashamed of what you wear.

February’s Awakening, Day 11

The desire of power in excess caused the angels to fall; the desire of knowledge in excess caused man to fall; but in charity there is no excess, neither can angel or man come in danger by it.

 —Francis Bacon 

Treat a man as he is and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can and should be and he will become as he can and should be.

 —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 

One word frees us of all the weight and pain in life.

That word is love.

 —Sophocles

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Colossians 3:12–14 NIV 

            In your mind’s eye, when you look upon the face of Jesus you see the pinnacle of love. His face, eyes, and expression filled with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness—all bound firmly and inseparably together with pure love. When you look at your brothers and sisters of humanity, what do you see? Do you see the same? Are you looking deep enough, past the burdens and pain they wear on the surface? Do you think you are perceiving them as Jesus would see them? What about when you look into the mirror? Can you perceive the face of Jesus hidden within?

            It is hard to wear the clothes of love when we are tattered, torn, and trampled by life. It is even harder to perceive those clothes of love on others when we can’t get past their cloak of pain. Yet still, dearly beloved child of God, remember the face of Jesus and remember how He sees you and all His beloved children. He sees the faces of love—maybe hidden, maybe obscured, a bit marred, but there nevertheless. Frame the vision of Jesus as your mindset of reference to perceive not only those around you, but especially the one in the mirror.