God Is Love 6

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. (I John 4:16)

“God does not have size or spatial dimensions and is present at every point of space with his whole being, yet God acts differently in different places” (Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, p. 173)

 

          Is there anywhere truly devoid of love. Is there a building in which love does not exist? Surely, if such a place exists, it would have to be in concentration camps and gulags under fascist, communist, or extremist control. And yet, even in those places we find stories of people, like Eric Liddell. After gaining great fame as an Olympic runner (that story is told in Chariot of Fire) he returned to China as a missionary, was captured and put in a Japanese prison camp, developed brain cancer and refused freedom so that a Chinese woman could go free. I think also of Darlene Deibler Rose, also a missionary, also put in a Japanese prison camp and made the leader of the inmates. Her persistent, consistent, yet respectful advocating on behalf of the prisoners resulted in the commander (known for his brutality) coming to protect his prisoners. I believe he became a Christian and preacher before he died. 
          We don’t find love only among these “saints,” either. Caring for animals has become a form of therapy in some prisons. Many kinds of animals mate for life, and many care for their young. It might not be the fullest, most mature form of love we can imagine, but that doesn’t mean it’s not love. As we have studied animals, we have often discovered that their lives are richer, fuller, and more complex than we had thought, and within that, we at least sometimes find love. As we continue to explore, should we not expect to find more?

         Some scientists will claim that it is nothing more than an anthropomorphized “selfish gene” determined to survive. I think their understanding is biased and too limited. I suspect that if we paid attention, we would find love everywhere – even in the strangest of places, like between geese and fish, or predators and the young of the prey they’ve just killed. I suspect one might even find it somewhere in the hearts and minds of serial killers, as hard to imagine as that might be.