radical love: part two.

Today I was sitting across a nearby lake and the sun was shining and the sky was clear; my attention captivated by the glistening reflections hopping in a magical way across the water. They danced like glittery diamonds atop beautiful water caps. As I stared, mesmerized, I began thinking about how clear that water must need to be to reflect sunshine in such a perfect, radiant way. Reflecting HIS very own sunshine, HIS creation. Large bodies of water like lakes and oceans and swimming pools do that - they reflect the sky above them, the sun He raised or the clouds He painted. Today though, it was shiny and pretty and so very alive.

I wondered what would happen if the water were murky, cloudy, or muddy. Would it still reflect the sun so beautifully? Would it reflect the exact refracting of the suns rays being spread over the waters surface like gold fairy dust? I also wondered how that applies to us humans, His other creation? How can we reflect Him if we are murky or muddy?

A little digging on the internet gave me some interesting information. Murky or muddy water does still reflect sunlight, but not as perfectly as I saw that day. The muddiness of the water actually means there are suspended particles in the way, which will scatter reflections, distorting them, rather then forming clear ones. Muddy water makes a reflection appear colored, obscured and splintered. Clear water however provides a mirrored reflection of the sky and surroundings. Light travels through clear water easier and therefore is able to maintain accurate refracting. How awesome is that!

Now, let’s change gears and talk about love. Specifically, the love of God. Love is one of the most beautiful and powerful forces in existence and yet, on our own, we often find ourselves falling short of giving or receiving it well. We can try to love others, to be patient and kind, to forgive and show compassion, but sometimes our love runs dry…especially if we are trying to form it from our own strength. We become weary, disappointed, or self-focused. That’s because true love doesn’t come from us but flows through us, from its source: God. The Bible tells us that “God is love” (1 John 4:8). God doesn’t simply possess love; He is love in its purest, most original and perfect form. Every act of mercy, every gift of grace, every bit of beauty and goodness in this world traces back to Him.

But back to the water, we also are to reflect Him, and shine for Him, returning His perfect love to those around us. In the same way the water doesn’t produce that brightness, it only mirrors the brilliance of the sun above it. We do not produce love, but mirror the brilliance of His love. Gods love shines into our lives, and when our hearts are turned toward Him, we will reflect that light outward into a dark and broken world. Jesus said, “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). Our “light” isn’t something we spark on our own; it’s the reflection of His perfect love radiating through us.

Once we understand where our source of love is coming from, we can better love others. Jesus said “I give you a new command: Love each other just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35). Scripture is instructing us to reflect Christ by loving others…and Jesus loves radically. But what does that really look like for us? For me, loving others is an action I choose.  To actively seek their best, desire their own relationship with God to grow, point them back to Jesus, offer generous forgiveness and lavish them with a grace that makes no human sense (Ephesians 1:7). Loving others radically means longing to be with them (2 Timothy 1:3-4), serving them, honoring them, and praying with and for them. Radically loving like Jesus means throwing off every part of your flesh that wants to be selfish, guarded or self focused and instead generously giving another all you can…freely.

It also means being honest - with myself, God and others. Even when it’s not what I or others want to hear, honesty matters. Real honesty keeps the water clear; deceit and facades muddy things up.  It means sharing and telling the truth. It means living honestly with my own brokenness, weakness and failures while also forgiving those same things in the one I am loving. This leads to practicing continuous confessing, repenting, forgiving and reconciling with others in deeply vulnerable ways. In deep vulnerability, we can love well.

My closest friend and I have a running list we keep of all the ways our friendship honors God. We keep this long list to remind ourselves of why and how we love each other like Jesus, when it is often hard to do. We are two very different people. A few of the things we commit to with our friendship are experiencing the love of Christ in a tangible way - extravagant and generous; fully knowing and accepting each other; encouraging one another to confront sin and idols (James 5:16); sharing burdens with one another (Galatians 6:2); fervently praying for and with one another (1 Thessalonians 5:17-18); reminding each other of who God says we are; and loving each other at all times (Proverbs 17:17). We have disagreements and can get angry with each other, but in the end, we choose to love. Every time. God’s pure love sustains that for us. It doesn’t fade when we mess up, or pull away when it gets uncomfortable. It doesn’t depend on how lovable we are. It’s steady, unchanging, and completely undeserved. It’s meant to fill us up so much that it runs through us and then spills out from us.

In a book I’m reading, The Soul Of Desire, Curt Thompson says, “Loving one another. This requires that we dwell closely and long enough together that we don’t just demonstrate how much we like or agree with each other. Rather, we turn each other’s worlds upside down in our commitment to be known so deeply by each other, that anyone who witnesses it will recognize the presence of Jesus immediately.” What better way can we reflect Christ to the world than by how we love. “No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and His love is brought to full expression in us.” (1 John 4:12). That is so powerful!

The key to reflecting God’s perfect, radical love is staying close to Him. Just as clouds can hide the suns light, sin, fear, and busyness can cloud our ability to reflect His light clearly. The more we spend time in His presence—through prayer, worship, scripture, and quiet moments of surrender—the more His love transforms us from within. The more His love changes how we see people, how we speak, and how we respond. The clearer the reflection becomes.

We also can’t reflect what we don’t receive. When life gets busy, our schedules fill up, and our hearts get cluttered, our reflection starts to blur. We snap easier. We get impatient. We start loving people based on how they treat us instead of how God loves them. We ‘love’ people for what we can get from them not for what God has done for us. These are not ways of truly loving. We don’t have to force or fake love. We just have to stay close to the source. The light is already shining and our job is to let it through.

In a culture obsessed with self-love, we have the chance to show a deeper kind of love: the kind that begins with God, fills us up, and spills over into every relationship we have. So today, don’t worry about being the brightest or most impressive light in the room. Just reflect Him. The world doesn’t need more perfect people…it needs more people willing to mirror the perfect love of God.