April 4: On Love — The Greatest of the Virtues
♫ Music:
Day 39 - Saturday, April 4
Rung #30: ON LOVE--THE GREATEST OF THE VIRTUES
Scriptures: Matthew 22: 36-40;
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 &13
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets.” Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Poetry:
Atlas
by U.A. Fanthorpe
There is a kind of love called maintenance
Which stores the WD40 and knows when to use it
Which checks the insurance, and doesn’t forget
The milkman; which remembers to plant bulbs;
Which answers letters; which knows the way
The money goes; which deals with dentists
And Road Fund Tax and meeting trains,
And postcards to the lonely; which upholds
The permanently rickety elaborate
Structures of living, which is Atlas.
And maintenance is the sensible side of love,
Which knows what time and weather are doing
To my brickwork; insulates my faulty wiring;
Laughs at my dryrotten jokes; remembers
My need for gloss and grouting; which keeps
My suspect edifice upright in air,
As Atlas did the sky.
ON LOVE--THE GREATEST OF THE VIRTUES
In an article on ChurchLeaders.com Gary Thomas asks, “Why are Christians so mean?” He begins by referencing Dallas Willard’s answer to this question, “Christians are mean in proportion to when they value being “right” over being “like Christ.”” Convicting words. As Christians, we answer to an authority higher than ourselves. But what if you and I interpret that standard differently? Ideological opposition becomes profoundly unsettling because it means either I misinterpreted Christ, or you did. At the heart of the issue is fear. What if I am wrong?
In working with my students, fear is often a considerable obstacle they encounter in various facets of life. I often ask, “Where is that fear coming from?” They astutely answer: the unknown. “How do we replace that fear?” With knowledge, with truth.
What do we know that will replace our fears? Love bears all things. All. Not a watered-down, humanized concept of love, but rather, one that is greater than all of us. Sacrificial love. Agape. We know it. But how often do we live it? Experience it?
Michelle Westmark-Wingard’s collaboration with her daughters on We Will Build Ladders was exactly this kind of active embodiment of love, stemming from a desire to provide an antidote to fear. It is a mother’s promise to her children that when anyone builds a wall, she will build a ladder that is taller.
In Atlas, by UA Fanthrope, the poet begins by saying, “There is a kind of love called maintenance...” I cannot help but be reminded of marriage. Love is an act. It is ongoing work! Trust develops because you know the other is devoted to a standard that is higher than both of you. Such is the love of the Father. He does not give up the pursuit of us, despite our imperfections. And He provides us with others who can reflect that same love to one another.
It is not enough to simply know. For knowing and understanding are two separate things - there must be work done to form a ladder connecting the head and the heart. Only when that connection is formed, between two disparate elements, do we start to shift our perspective and begin to achieve renewal of the heart and mind, resulting in fruits of the spirit.
The most peace I have ever experienced was during 40 Days of Prayer through Saddleback Church. It occurred during a particularly tumultuous time in my life. But that peace did not appear out of nowhere. It required spending time in His word - reading, reflecting, praying, discussing, and putting what I learned into practice. When work was invested, my perspective changed, as did my behavior. Fear decreased. He increased.
Prayer:
Father, help me to slow down enough to breathe in your presence. Help me to experience your great love, and then actively love others more than my own interests. Continue to renew my heart and mind. Thank you for never abandoning me. This process is rarely easy, Father, but thank you for replacing my fear with your love, from start to finish. Thank you that your love never fails.
Amen
Zachary Bortot
Assistant Professor of Theatre
Biola University
For more information about the artwork, music, poetry, and devotional writer selected for this day, we have provided resources under the “About” tab located next to the “Devotional” tab
About the Art:
We Will Build Ladders Series (4 images)
Michelle Westmark-Wingard in Collaboration with Her Daughters
2016-18
Digital C-print, washi tape, stickers, permanent marker
Michelle describes her series We Will Build Ladders as “a collaborative art project between my seven-year-old daughters and myself. Pre-election we were talking a lot about what it means to do kindness and be inclusive as general themes that are especially important to first graders. The morning after the election my oldest daughter cried and I was surprised because my husband and I were careful to keep our political opinions as neutral as possible. She said, "I am afraid of the wall" and I was surprised that she had heard about the wall. She said, "what if they build it so high that no one can ever cross?" I told her, "I will build a ladder that is taller than any wall they could ever build." And then my daughters and I made a promise. Anytime we feel afraid, we will do something kind for someone else. We started an art project between the three of us to visualize what it might look like to build ladders.”
About the Artist:
Michelle Westmark-Wingard is a curator, installation-based photographer, and arts educator. She is Professor of Art and the Gallery Director of Bethel University’s two exhibition spaces. In her fourteen years of programming exhibitions, Westmark-Wingard has worked with many nationally and internationally known artists in a diverse range of media. Her photographic and curatorial projects often seek to create experiential and participatory opportunities exploring themes of memory, memorial, perception, and interconnection. Previously, she was Assistant to the Gallery Director in Pratt Institute’s Department of Exhibitions and she had the opportunity to work with Creative Time and A.I.R. Gallery. Westmark-Wingard holds an MFA in photography from Pratt Institute, Brooklyn (2006). She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with her husband and three daughters.
michellewingard.com
About the Music:
“Movement II (V. 4-10)” from the album Love Never Ends
The Lyrics:
Love is patient and kind
Love does not envy or boast
It is not arrogant or rude
It does not insist on its own way
It is not irritable or resentful
It does not rejoice at wrongdoing
But rejoices with the truth
But rejoices with the truth
Love bears all things
Believes all things
Hopes all things
Endures all things
Love bears all things
Believes all things
Hopes, endures all things
Love never ends
As for prophecies
They will pass away
As for tongues
They will cease
As for knowledge
It will pass away
For we know in part
And we prophesy in part
But when the perfect comes
The partial will pass away
Love never, never, never, never ends
Never, never, never, never ends
Never, never, never, never ends
Love never, never, never, never ends
Never, never, never, never ends
Never, never, never, never ends
Love never ends
Love bears all things
Believes all things
Hopes all things
Endures all things
Love never ends
About the Composer/Lyricist/Performer:
Adam Wright’s life-long pursuit is setting Scripture to music and providing a resource to help God’s people engage with the Bible more deeply. Adam began this process as music minister for Cahaba Park Church by writing Psalms to music for a summer sermon series. Almost six years later, he's written and recorded over 25 songs straight from the pages of Scripture under the moniker, The Corner Room. As each passage has a different character and intent, each song he writes takes on a unique style, drawing from his deep love of acoustic music. A singer/songwriter at heart, Adam enjoys arranging each passage into an accessible work that makes memorization and meditation easy. “These songs are a treasure to me,” says Wright, “They've not only impacted my family, my church, and my community, but have made a lasting impact on my own personal love and understanding of Scripture. I look forward to where the Lord leads from here.”
cornerroommusic.com
About the Poet:
Ursula Askham Fanthorpe, CBE, FRSL (1929–2009) was an English poet who was published as U. A. Fanthorpe. Fanthorpe spent her earliest years in Kent. She attended St Anne’s College Oxford and afterwards became a teacher and ultimately the Head of English at Cheltenham Ladies’ College. However, she only began writing when she resigned her teaching career to become a receptionist at a psychiatric hospital where her observation of the “strange specialness” of the patients provided the inspiration for her first book, Side Effects. After her relatively late start in writing poetry, Fanthorpe wrote prolifically and produced 9 full-length collections, including the Forward Prize-nominated Safe as Houses and the Poetry Book Society Recommendation Consequences. She was awarded a CBE in 2001 and the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry in 2003.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U._A._Fanthorpe
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/ua-fanthorpe
About the Devotion Writer:
Zachary Bortot
Assistant Professor of Theatre
Biola University
Professor Zachary Bortot is the Artistic Director of Biola University’s Theatre Program. He last appeared as Horatio in The Courtyard Shakespeare Festival’s production of Hamlet. This season for Biola he directed Lauren Gunderson’s Silent Sky and served as a producer for The Last Five Years, The Music Man, and The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940. His professional interests include immersive theatre, Theatre of Cruelty, and the use of augmented and virtual reality in theatrical performance.