{"id":39657,"date":"2024-12-02T12:01:53","date_gmt":"2024-12-02T20:01:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=39657"},"modified":"2024-11-22T17:07:55","modified_gmt":"2024-11-23T01:07:55","slug":"is-love-enough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/is-love-enough\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Love Enough?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pierce and Abbey Lane<\/strong><\/p>\n

How do you capture a portion of a book that tells such a comprehensive story? Well, you write about the subject that you are most interested in, drawn to. For me, it was a choice between two, The Apocalypse and Love. I know that sounds strange, well maybe not so strange given the times that we are in. Yet, admittedly, it caused me to pause also. I decided that the chapter on love was probably the safest to focus on. I was so excited to find that the chapter on \u201cLove\u201d began with Abbey Lane. It brought a smile to my face as I was reminded of a sweet picture of my son (in the purple shirt) and his buddies on Abbey Lane, recreating the famous Beatles picture. I have shared it with you for context. I hope it makes you smile also.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The \u201cLove\u201d Chapter takes us on a journey through some of the most pivotal events that have challenged not only the western world but the rest of the world. Beginning with the Beatles and the \u201cLove Era\u201d and the Civil Rights Movement, Holland writes about how influential figures focused on love as a way to unite a divided world.<\/p>\n

The Cost of Love<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was most interested in the cost of focusing on love in turbulent times. Holland writes about specifically how this impacted The Beatles and Martin Luther King Jr both who spread the importance of love and paid a great price for it. Holland says, \u201cHow, then, could love be enough? The Beatles \u2013 although roundly mocked for their message \u2013 were not alone in believing that it might be possible.[1]<\/a>\u201d He then explains, \u201cA decade earlier, in the depths of the American South, a Baptist Pastor named Martin Luther King had pondered what Christ had meant by urging his followers to love their enemies.\u201d[2]<\/a> I wonder did they understand what it would cost them. Holland indicates that Dr. King understood what it cost to speak of the teachings of Christ and the importance of love. He says, \u201cHe knew that it cost a man to bear witness to the word of God.[3]<\/a> Dr. King set a high bar for leaning into to love when hate is so prevalent. Appealing to Christians King declared that Jesus was an extremist for love. King \u201cappealed to the example of his Saviour. Laws that sanctioned the hatred and persecution of one race by another he declared, were laws that Christ himself would have broken.\u201d[4]<\/a> Where is the connection lost? If our Lord and Savior was an extremist for love, how can we as Christians hate one another. How can we be Christians and move away from the way Christ showed us how to love? I \u2018d like to believe that there is still hope for a return to love and respect. Holland shares this about former President Goerge W. Bush, \u201casked while still a candidate for the presidency to name his favourite thinker, he had answered unhesitatingly:\u201d Christ, because he changed my heart\u201d[5]<\/a>. I believe that this is possible for everyone, I believe that Christ can change the heart of the hardest to reach. I believe that Christ can help us return to love. I have to cling to this in these times where hope is fading, and evil seems to be prevailing.<\/p>\n

Let Me Take A Moment<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here we are, our last book and my last post. I feel ready for it to finish yet unprepared for not meeting with you all weekly. It has been one of the most remarkable experiences of my life that has challenged me in areas that I did not realize that I needed to examine or consider an unfamiliar perspective. I am grateful for the lifelong connections that we have established and can\u2019t wait to witness the impact that we will have on the world. It has been an honor to travel the world with you all. I will continue to pray for you all and your precious family. I am only a text away, reach out if you need me. Happy writing\u2026 see you all in May. Graduation Bound!<\/p>\n

[1] <\/a>Tom Holland, Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind<\/em> (London, England: Abacus, 2023), 474.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Ibid., 474.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Ibid., 474.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Ibid., 474.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Ibid., 491.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pierce and Abbey Lane How do you capture a portion of a book that tells such a comprehensive story? Well, you write about the subject that you are most interested in, drawn to. For me, it was a choice between two, The Apocalypse and Love. I know that sounds strange, well maybe not so strange […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":174,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2310],"tags":[2489,2627],"class_list":["post-39657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-doctor-of-leadership-3","tag-dlgp02","tag-holland","cohort-dlgp02"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/174"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39657"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39657\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39661,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39657\/revisions\/39661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}