Love is Not Inconvenienced

I have lived my life in an age of convenience.  Some of the definitions of "convenient" found in the Merriam Webster dictionary are, "suited to personal comfort or to easy performance; suited to a particular situation; affording accommodation or advantage."  The world panders to our natural selfishness.  We want things to be easy, comfortable, and advantageous.  Most people are happy to pay more for greater convenience.  We complain when the seal on the tomato sauce or the peanut butter doesn't have suitable sized tabs for easy removal.  We avoid peak-hour traffic when we can because it is a great inconvenience.  Today was a lesson in convenience I won't soon forget.

My eldest son began his work experience today at Macquarie University.  My wife had planned on accompanying him on the bus and making sure he arrived at his destination.  Riding the bus in Sydney can be tricky because there are no announcements of an upcoming stop or what stop it is!  You need to know where you are going and push the "stop" button and the driver will stop at the next scheduled stop on the route.  I already had the day planned, and hoped to accomplish some important preparation for the week.  It turned out Laura woke up with a terrific migraine.  I would have to drive to the station, take the bus to Macquarie University, and turn right around and come home.  I was not happy.  My plans were shot, and it was most inconvenient.

As the bus rumbled along at a snail's pace, I thought about feeling inconvenienced.  What I saw in my heart was not pretty.  If I could boil it down to the most fundamental aspect, it is inherently selfish.  It is placing your own ease and comfort above everything else.  I thought about how Jesus left the glory of heaven, entered time, inhabited a human body for decades, only to be rejected and die a brutal death on the cross.  Jesus knew this faced Him, but He gladly did it anyway.  "Inconvenient" does not begin to sum up His sacrifice.  There I was, annoyed about a modified schedule which would cost me a few hours, when Jesus joyfully went to the cross for my sins.  I was convicted by my selfishness.  And then a thought came:  "Love is not inconvenienced."  Jesus did not see it as "inconvenient" to leave heaven and become a man.  He did not come to earth for convenience:  Jesus came because He loved lost souls He wanted to save.

Isn't it true when you walk in love, nothing is too hard or difficult?  No sacrifice is too great for your beloved, and even great personal cost is as nothing.  I was once invited to be a groomsman at a close friend's wedding.  It was a day of great rejoicing.  It didn't matter it was quite a long drive to the church.  It didn't matter the tux rental cost me more than a day's wages!  I didn't care how long the wedding lasted.  I loved my friend, his bride, and family, and just being there with him on his wedding day was a treasured joy.  But I honestly have not always felt this way about every wedding.  Some weddings I have been invited to seemed a bit inconvenient because of location, duration, or many other factors.  It was because I was not viewing that person through the lens of Christ's giving, unchanging, unrelenting love.  Love is never inconvenienced because it is wholly focused on others and saturated with grace and mercy.  This morning I repented because my feelings of being inconvenienced proved I was not abiding in Christ's love.  My early morning perspective was all about me when it should have been about loving God and others.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 provides a tidy description of God's love:  "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."  God's love is infinite, and there is no description adequate to sum it up.  Today God gave me a practical application in my own life by allowing my feelings to alert me to a problem in my heart.  Thankfully God forgives all who repent.  This morning I had my own plans, but God's plans included teaching me a lesson I will benefit from for eternity.  How good and gracious the LORD is to not only give awareness of sin, but the righteous path leading to joy and gladness!