Perfect Love

April-May Newsletter Article

As I write this article in mid-March, I am picturing the changes that will come in the weeks ahead, green shoots from the ground and buds on the trees. The wind will cease to be sharp and biting, becoming gentle, with the promise of warmth. I like the yellow-green of spring and the smell of the earth as it lets loose of the cold and welcomes the sun.

The promise of new life and growth are ours in the Spring. That same promise is ours through the Risen Son. With our Easter celebration on March 31, we are reminded of new beginnings. The warmth of God’s love melts the hard, cold places in our hearts. The light of Christ brightens our days. The reality of new life in resurrection offers opportunity for personal transformation and transformation of the world.

Just as spring brings lovely, perfect days, the resurrection of Christ brings perfect love.

Through the understanding of John Wesley, we Methodists celebrate God’s perfect love in Jesus Christ and we expect that by God’s grace we may be perfected in love. This does not mean, however, that we become infallible or without error in our faith. Perfect love means that we practice the two great commandments faithfully and completely, to love God and to love neighbor.

The season of spring contains more than perfect images, along with the tulips and lilies, there are streams and rivers swollen with rain. The sidewalks may be clear of snow, but are now scattered with earthworms. Lawns chiseled by snow plows, beds matted with last year’s perennials and scattered sticks mar the greening of the earth. And yet, the promise of new life pushes through.

That is what happens as we grow in perfect love, loving God and loving neighbor without reservation. Life may offer challenges and hardship, but the promise of new life in Christ pushes through. May we grow in love of God in this season of new beginnings. May we grow in love of one another in the name of Jesus Christ, who loves us completely.