Love and Football
This past Saturday night was a big night in college football if you didn't know. Georgia, representing the East Division, took on Alabama, representing the West Division, in the SEC Championship Game held in Atlanta. The two teams have tangled many times, and they even met last year and battled for the same championship. So, if you don't follow college football, you would think that fans wouldn't have been very excited. Oh, but we were.
Georgia entered the game undefeated, and Alabama was in the unusual position underdog. Georgia Head Coach Kirby Smart was once an assistant coach under Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban, and Smart hoped that he would finally be able to defeat his former boss during this matchup. Tickets for the game were advertised as high as nearly $8,000 a seat, but nosebleed seats could be had for around $500. Nevertheless, the stadium was completely full, the arena selling about 75,000 tickets. The game was nationally televised and regionally broadcast on both the Alabama Sports Network and the Georgia Bulldog Sports Network. People around the world watched and listened over the internet.
But there was a much smaller event going on that was undeniably more important. Friends and I attended a wedding nestled among northern Alabama's hills and natural forest. Dusk fell as the paved road we traveled turned first into a path and then into a dirt trail. Warm white lights sparkled and shone in the branches of trees and along archways, elegantly juxtaposed against the grey sky.
Under an imposing rustic beam structure where the ceremony took place, the scent of fir and balsam floated in the air. Candles enhanced sprinklings of snow and mistletoe and white roses. Violin music and quiet conversations blended and rose above the gathering. I can imagine the festive sounds floating toward the heavens, where I am sure angels smiled, and the atmosphere softened.
As beautiful as the setting was, it was trivial compared to the spirit of love that saturated the place.
Originating with the bride and groom and spilling from them in waves was love. It spilled to the flower girls, princesses in sequins and tulle, who danced and twirled as all princesses should. It spilled to the relatives, who traveled across both state and country to celebrate the start of a new family chapter. And it spilled to the friends, hearts skipping with the treasure of the love they witnessed not just in the couple's words but also in their eyes. Their expressions.
They were stunning, the bride and groom. Looking like the hero and heroine of a fairy tale, they smiled and cried and danced and promised each other more than love. More than having and holding for better or for worse. They vowed to love actively – to support each other, laugh together, and forgive each other.
And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
1 John 4:16
God loves us actively. Yes, he is almighty. But he's not sitting on the edge of his throne, waiting to squash the next person who steps out of line. Instead, he wants to engage with us and actively love us. He wants to support us. Sometimes he does this through our interaction with scripture and songs. And sometimes, he sends people our way with encouragement. He also wants to laugh with us. (Please don't call me a heretic.) Even though the Bible never records any member of the Trinity laughing, I know they do. We were created in God's image. We find things funny, so I am pretty sure God laughs, too. Another way he actively loves us is through forgiveness. He surely wants to show us mercy. We simply have to ask because Jesus has paid the price for our sins.
This week, think, really think, about love. Do you love actively? Do you let God love you actively? It's important. Do you offer support, laughter, and forgiveness? Do you seek it from the Lord? I hope you do. Because when the twinkling lights are gone and the roses have faded, you need to know that the love you share with others and with your God is real.
Even more real than my love of football. And that love runs deep, my friends.
