One of the favorite choir anthems we sang in the late 1980’s is “Love Will Be Our Home” by Sandy Patti. Both musical arrangement and lyrics exude love and hope. One stanza goes,
Wherever there is laughter ringing, Someone smiling, someone dreaming
We can live together there, Love will be our home.
Where there are children singing, Where a tender heart is beating
We can live together there, Love will be our home <!–split–>
But can we really sing this song right now, where it seems like there are more tears than laughter, more arrogance than smiles, more despairs than dreams? Yes, We Can! Yes, we can by God’s power of love.
The message translation of 1 John 4:17-19 gives us the Yes, We Can answer:
17-18 God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we’re free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed ve banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love.
19 We, though, are going to love—love and be loved. First, we were loved, now we love. He loved us first.
With God’s love residing in our lives, we can bring out the laughter, smiles and dreams in us and in other people. We can be love in many faces: a lullaby to soothe the weary heart, a meal to nourish the famished soul, a breath of fresh air to the tired lungs. We can be the quiet presence beside the grieving, the cheer that lifts the fallen, the balm that heals the deepest wounds. We can also be a shield for the fragile, a sanctuary for the lost, a light to guide through darkness. Yes, We Can in so many ways!
On the other hand, if we are on the receiving end of love, Yes We Can also sing, laugh, smile and dream because God’s love is for everyone. God excludes no one.
May God’s Love be our home today and for always!