Thanksgiving is for lovers

"You can give without loving, but you can never love without giving." ~Victor Hugo, 

Les Misérables

John Lennon said it when he sang, "all you need is love".
All the 6th grade wall flowers silently agreed as we watched the 8th graders dance to  "I believe, love is the answer...".
Jesus spoke pretty highly about love too.  "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.  But the greatest of these is love." (1 Cor 13:13)

To some extent, we all believe that love makes the world go round.  Most of us want to be people who are characterized by how we love.

So it should be no surprise that Jesus commands us to love.  

"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God." (1 John 4:7)  

It's easy to think we've got this commandment licked.  Now the other commandments?? About lying, gossiping, coveting, etc?  Well, let's not talk about that.  But love?  I can do that.  Many of us think about the command to love one another, and we picture this kum-ba-yah, googly eyed, feel good kind of love.

That somehow loving others should feel easy and light and otherworldly....And sometimes, it really is! (Thank the good Lord for that!) 


But Victor Hugo was right; you can't love without giving.   And giving, by definition, requires a yielding of ourselves.  Love is sacrifice.

If we want to be people who love deeply, we must be willing to give generously.

Can I just be real for a minute?  Dropping your spare change in the little red Salvation Army bucket after Black Friday shopping isn't the type of giving that love demands!

I'm not knocking on charities.  I absolutely believe we should be giving to those in need.  But we can't stop there! Indeed, we MUST go beyond this!


I admit, there's something satisfying about giving.  It makes us feel good about ourselves.  We give when the holidays come around and fill our "I'm a good person" tanks and then we go on, lives unchanged.  Giving without loving.  We are far more willing to put a dent in our checkbook, than we are willing to give our time, our energy or simply give grace to the people in our lives. 


When God talks about love?   He talks about sacrifice.  Loving without an agenda.  Loving the unlovable.  Loving when it hurts.


Giving your full attention to someone when you've got a list of things you'd rather do.  Giving up your much needed sleep when you hear your baby crying or when you get a late night call from a friend who's in a hard place.  Giving support by linking arms with someone and saying I'm right here no matter what.  Giving grace and forgiveness to someone who has wronged you.  That, my friends, is love.

Love isn't always the sound of coins clanging and the bell ringer's joyful greeting:  "Bless you!  Merry Christmas to you and yours!"

Sometimes love is the sound of scoffers.  Sometimes love feels like a spit in the face and the throbbing of open wounds.  Each throb a reminder that love is unconditional and doesn't stop when it gets hard. True love is the giving of oneself.  Sacrifice.

"Greater love has no one than this: that he lay down his life for his friend." John 15:13

If you know the story of Jesus in the Bible, or the story of Jean Valjean in Les Misérables, or really, if you think of any great story that has captivated you, you will see a story of great love, great sacrifice, and great redemption.

Yes, love is hard.  Love is costly.  But love is redemptive.  And incredibly beautiful. 

If we want to be characterized by our love, we must also be characterized by our deep generous souls.

This Thanksgiving, let us not just be people who gather around the table giving thanks, but also people who are willing to stand up from that table and give our lives.

"Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth." (1 John 3:18)

May we give encouragement, hope, and life.  May we give space for others to just be where they are.  May we be willing to not only give from our pockets but also from our souls.  May we stand in the gap, giving our voice for those that are unable to speak  May we respectfully give grace and permission for others to have opinions that differ from ours. 

May we be people who love deeply and give generously.

Thanksgiving is for lovers. (1 Cor. 13)

Love is patient: give grace

Love is kind: give preference

Love does not envy, does not boast, is not proud: give humility.
Love does not dishonor others: give respect.   
Love is not self seeking, or easily angered:  give understanding
Love keeps no record of wrongs:  give forgiveness

Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth: give the truth even when it's hard truth.
Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres: give strength, give honor, give life, give loyalty.  
Love never fails!  Give unconditionally, without ceasing, relentlessly.


Love deeply.  Give generously.