Relationships of Love

Feb 18, 2015 by Jim and Jerolyn Bogear

 

Last night Jim and I went to the movies. Before the show were some commercials. One was for Android showing different animals playing together that are usually not friendly. For example, a tiger was lying beside a bear and a goat was trying to jump up on a horse. The message – We can all get along despite our differences.

Another commercial was for Coca-Cola and showed a coke spilling on an Internet server. The soda then flowed throughout the world spreading goodness. Where two people were fighting – they suddenly were amicable. Where someone was sad – they were happy. You get the idea.

Showing love to others – especially those people outside our inner circle or even our tribe is not just supposed to happen. It has to happen. We are simply one big group of humanity living on this giant planet spinning through space. We must get along.

I’ve been reading a book by Bob Roberts called Bold As Love. He talks about the importance of love and friendship crossing lines of race, culture, and religion. I love what he has to say, but I really love the title – Bold As Love.

Loving another human being is not a wimpy action. It requires three crucial components:

Courage: The ability to step out of your comfort zone and open yourself up to another person.

Transparency: Showing others who you really are – not the façade that is societally acceptable, but the true you.

Vulnerability: Anytime you open the door to your true self, you risk rejection. But it is so worth the risk.

Now in a practical day-to-day life, we weave out of many levels of love. Our relationships are like concentric circles around us. We have the inner circle of family, then close friends, then other friends, then acquaintances, and so forth all the way out to our touches with the grocery clerk or our banker. And in each of those circles, we love in varying degrees. I don’t have the same relationship with my waitress at Denny’s as I do my best friend. But I must still love them both.

And what about outside of my tribe? What about people of other cultures, races, or religions? Am I willing to open my heart to them in love?

Love does not mean we always agree or live life the same way. But a true life of love is filled with kindness, respect, and valuing. That kind of love can extend throughout your neighborhood, your city, your country, and around the world. Love is the unifying hope of humanity and the only way we can live in true relationship.

How do you live out a heart and life of love?

~ Jim and Jerolyn

 

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Easter – A Father’s Sacrifice

Apr 16, 2014 by Jim and Jerolyn Bogear

 

We were on the snow and life was good. Our kids, who had learned to ski, were now learning to snowboard.

Shay, our son, who is now fairly accomplished on the snowboard, was 10. Gabby, our youngest, came over to me at the bottom of the snow bunny hill, and said, “Shay fell and hurt himself.”

When we got him to the hospital clinic there in Truckee, we found out that he had broken his wrist in two places, both the radius and ulna. Fortunately the doctor was world-renowned and had worked on and repaired Olympic skiers. In other words, he knew what he was doing.

After we x-rayed the damage, he had me walk in with he and Shay into a room while our family sat in the waiting area. He said we could wait and have it set back in Sacramento but his concern was that it might not heal properly.

His recommendation? For him to grab a hold of the wrist and attempt to “snap” the bones back in place so when they healed they would do so correctly. If not, Shay might always have problems due to improper healing. He happened to play baseball and that was extra cause for concern that the wrist would not heal properly.

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Genuine Love

Mar 21, 2013 by Jim and Jerolyn Bogear

It’s almost springtime and where we live, the Bradford fruitless pear trees are in full bloom. They are trees of medium height with beautiful white blossom. In a town that sees only a dusting of snow every 10 years, the fruitless pear appear to be completely laden with pure white balls of snow. Then as the tree begins to leaf, soft, delicate petals flutter down like a gentle snow shower. We have entire streets lined with this majestic display. Rather ironic that this is how we usher out winter and welcome the spring. And I absolutely hate these trees.

Don’t get me wrong; fruitless pear trees are absolutely beautiful in bloom and in leaf. But I am terribly allergic to them or at the very least something that blooms at the exact same time. When I see the blossoms beginning to appear, I have to instantly take refuge indoors. No more walks in the park; no sitting on my back patio in the evening. I literally run from doorway to car, from car to doorway to avoid inhaling the pollens. I have spent many days in bed sick from those trees and one year, it was for an entire month. So you can see, while they are beautiful, I dread their appearance every year.

How often are we like those trees when we are relating to others. We smile and appear bright and cheery as we interact. We say all the right words and sometimes even perform generous acts of kindness.  But do we really care about the people we are living around? Or is it all a façade that in secret blows away in the wind like soft white petals.

In Mark 12:30-31 we are told to love God first and love our neighbor second. I really like how Jim puts it, “Love God with everything you’ve got and love God’s kids the way He loves His kids.” To truly love with a genuine heart, we must be sure we are completely full of genuine love – and that love can only come from the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

Are you living like the Bradford pear trees – beautiful and showy, but fruitless  and causing discomfort? Seek a heart of genuine love and your insides will match your outsides.

~Jerolyn

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