Ponder for November #JesusWinsEverytime

I heard Pat Benatar’s, “Love is a Battlefield” song the other day at the grocers and my heart took notice. In the frozen food aisle, I stopped and listened to the lyrics. I realized a great Truth right then and there, between the Tillamook ice cream and DiGiorno pizza: Civically, socially, and spiritually the war against Love rages. Love is, indeed, a battlefield.

Advent is big-in-the-window, a time we turn our attention to one sweet little soul born in a manger in a messy little cave outside of Bethlehem, who is Love Incarnate. It’s a perfect time to talk about Love.

Civically, the battlefield of law and politics is fierce, and casualties are everywhere. As I type, the government shutdown drags on and those individuals and families relying on public monies for basic necessities – the (working) poor, the unhoused, the elderly, and/or the mentally ill - will suffer. No one can agree on how to care for those who Jesus loved most. Should the faith-full take over care for the poorest among us, as it happened throughout time until about the 1500’s? Or should the government continue to funnel resources into alleviating hunger and poverty? This is the battle between warring opinions and, contrary to popular sentiments, it’s been a hot-button topic since we enacted the Depression Era’s Social Security Act of 1935. Jesus said to love on our neighbors (Mark 12:31) and do unto others as you would have done unto you (Matthew 7:12). We don’t need a war between political parties in order to do what Jesus asked. Our eternal souls depend on it (Matthew 25: 31-46). Do Love.

Socially, the latest faith statistics still show the downward trend away from God and towards a non-Christian landscape. For every one person who steps into the Church – and we have 11 souls on that journey! – eight walk away. That’s a 1:8 ratio. Lots of folks like to say ‘culture’ is to blame, but who makes up culture? Yep. You and I. The battle here is in talking about Jesus and the way things ought to be in the produce department of WalMart or at your favorite coffee house or over lunch at the Confluence. There’s a lot of healing that needs to be done on social battlefield and much of it can be done in Jesus’ name (Matthew 11:5). Speak Love.

Spiritually, the biggest battle is the one we fight with ourselves. But you know that. I’m listening to C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters on the Hallow app and it is a daily reminder of Satan’s relentless and ruthless quest for my soul. Every day I have a choice to do the Good or not-so-good. It’s hard. Even St. Paul, the greatest evangelist of all time, struggled with this one (Romans 7:19). We can’t give what we don’t have, so if you want to radiate faith, hope, and joy, you have to nurture faith, hope, and joy in your soul. If you want to channel Jesus in this world, you have to nurture Jesus in your soul. Be Love.

You see, Benatar was right, Love is indeed a battlefield. So don the armor of Christ and fight the Good fight: Do Love. Speak Love. Be Love. (Ephesians 6: 10-18). #Jesuswinseverytime