Ethereal

Ethereal = light, airy, and tenuous

I ask the following question of my students at the beginning of each new term: "Do you believe what people say or do you believe what people do?" The consensus with my street savvy students is always unanimous: they believe what people do. I ask this question because I teach a curriculum that gives them skills for life, teaches them anger management and conflict resolution, and requires respect. I know I cannot expect them to put things into practice if it is not modeled for them by their teacher. Demonstrating these skills and respecting each student goes a lot further than abstract principles.

I've been having a discussion with a friend about abstract verses concrete love. We both agree that love often gets spoken of in theory without being put into practice. I think people know when they are being handed vaporous love that seems to dissipate into the air. Love is not ethereal, and it is certainly not a notion of sentiment or affinity. It is, instead, a tangible, practical, concrete, earthy thing that is expressed in the way we live towards others. The difference between being told "i love you" and actually being loved are as night and day.

We can call our sentiment "love", but it isn't believable until it is experienced. When Jesus tells us to love the Father or to love our neighbors, it means something more than possessing nice thoughts about them or practicing benign avoidance. Authentic love calls us out of ourselves and is demonstrated in how we live towards others.

"This is how we know what real love is: Jesus gave his life for us. So we should give our lives for our brothers and sisters. Suppose someone has enough to live and sees a brother or sister in need, but does not help. Then God's love is not living in that person. My children, we should love people not only with words and talk, but by our actions and true caring" (1 John 3:16-18).

Words by themselves are unbelievable. Even the words of the gospels would be unbelievable if it weren't for the concrete love of God demonstrated by the Living Word at the cross!

Living Words.

Genuine love is love incarnated...in the flesh...in us. This love moves us beyond our judgments of others. This love causes us to reject using Scripture to destroy others. This love teaches us to engage and not avoid involvement in other people's lives. This love causes us to collaborate with Christ. This love moves us into the will of God.

Words are cheap. Love isn't.

"Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God" (1 John 4:7).