"Shedenhelm's Law" maintains that all trails have more uphill sections than they have downhill sections. To which I would say, "Amen." Shedenhelm's Law, by the way, is a real thing- you can look it up- but there are a lot of laws, aren't there? There are famous laws, like Hammurabi's Code, and there are types of laws- criminal, civil, international, among them. There are laws that govern things- like gravity and thermodynamics-and there are outdated and silly laws. For instance, in MA., it is illegal to bathe on Sundays and/or to have intimate relations with a rodeo clown; and in KY, although I suspect it's frequently violated, every resident must take at least one shower per year! Yes, there are funny laws and living-giving laws... but there is one law that trumps them all... and that is the LAW OF LOVE... which is the most important of all of God's gifts and which also captures the very essence of ALL of God's commandments.
According to Paul, love has 15 traits. Two of them are part of the fruit of the Spirit- patience and kindness; two of them show the power of love- that it's not easily angered and NEVER keeps score; 6 of them are attitudes, and 5 of them are things love ALWAYS does... which is to rejoice with the truth (there is a truth you know), protect, trust, hope, and persevere. Love is all of this and more, but since we're discussing the Law of Love, we must focus on behavior! We live in a world where love may be a sentiment, a feeling, or just something we like to think about... but Biblical love is invariably an action word and the Law of Love demands action. This doesn't mean that there aren't any feelings involved... but God's love is a verb... and it shows its face in the things we do. As Jesus noted, the Law of Love is fulfilled when we love God with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength... AND our neighbors as ourselves... and when we show our love for both of them in concrete ways. Love must be visible because good intentions and wishing are not enough. Some of the components of the royal law of love are well know to us. "Love one another," Jesus said, "as I have loved you"...which was in word and deed, Love one another as I have loved you. This is the 11th commandment... and through the light of our love for one another...others see God. Friends, let us work to let others see our love for God in the love we show to one another! If they don't see it that way, they won't see it at all, at least not from this church. "Love your neighbor as yourself," Jesus said, and when he was challenged, he told a story about a Samaritan and asked: which man was neighbor to the one who was beaten? His antagonist said, "the one who acted like a neighbor"... and Jesus replied, "Bingo. Go and do likewise."
Love is an action word, but our actions are NOT love if we play favorites. Love does not show partiality. It does not go out of its way to meet and seat someone who is rich and famous, and let a poor man wander around without saying a word, maybe hoping inside that he will feel rejected and leave. The Law of Love demands that we treat each person with the greatest respect because love is an action word!"Bear one another's burdens." This is yet another way of fulfilling the law of love, and we are blessed with members who actually make a practice of bearing other people's burdens, including mine, and we appreciate because bearing another's burdens can be tiring, costly, and maybe even frustrating. Love one another as I have loved you, love your God with every fiber of your being, love your neighbor as yourself; treat all people- each one- with respect; bear one another's burdens, knowing that your brother and your sister are NOT heavy, and forgive others... again and again and again...until the cows come home...until you feel like a fool. Forgive an actual person in real time for specific transgressions. Friends, we cannot forgive in the abstract... because the healing and releasing power of forgiveness comes when we let go of our real anger and resentments.
We could go on for some time, even have a sermon series on the Law of Love, but you have the idea. Love is a verb- an action- a behavior for God... to empower someone else, or to shoulder their burden, or to break the bonds that bind them. The Law of Love is the most important law there is. You can make your own specific list of things you can do that will show your love for one another, for your neighbor, and for your God... but I will close with a real example that caught my eye. At the close of the first day in the battle at Fredericksburg, hundreds of union soldiers were lying wounded on the battlefield... and their cries, pleas and prayers drowned out everything else, at least they did for Sgt. Richard Kirkland, who could no longer ignore their need. Kirkland was a Sgt in the Confederate Army- a man from SC- but he went to his commanding officer, and asked for permission to go onto the battle field and give the union soldiers who were suffering and dying some water to drink. The General hesitated,but finally said, "Kirkland, it is sending you to your death, but I can't refuse a motive such as yours. Go!" And he did. He stepped over the wall and in full view of both armies, he knelt down by the nearest sufferer and raised his head, as he gave him a drink of cool water. And not a single union soldier fired a shot. They didn't shoot either when Kirkland spent the next 90 minutes giving drink to the thirsty and the dying, straightening out cramped and mangled limbs, spreading army coats and blankets over the fallen enemy. Then, and I'm not sure if he ran out of time... or water, he returned to the safety of his bunker and went back behind the wall.
Richard Kirkland was not a preacher as far as I know, nor an elder... but he gave a concrete lesson in the Law of Love that day... and he showed the world that there really is NO black or white, or grey coat or blue coat... in God's eyes... just men and women, girls and boys... who are one day winning and the next day losing, one day running and the next day fallen... and that each one of us... poor man or rich man... ought to have a drink from the fountain of life. Kirkland could have been killed in an instance... and he may well have been killed the next day or the next week, maybe by one of the men whom he gave a drink of mercy to. I don't know, but I do know that practicing the law of love is its own reward and that sometimes... the Law of Love demands every ounce of grace, courage, and blood that we have to give. Amen.
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