“But why couldn’t Quirrel touch me?”"Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn’t realize that love as powerful as your mother’s for you leaves its mark. Not a scar, no visible sign … to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give some protection forever.”

J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

“It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.”

Charles Dickens, A Tale Of Two Cities

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

(John 15:13)

The entire world wants love. Who wouldn’t? To love and be loved is perhaps the deepest longing we have, or ever can have. Love is promoted in poetry, in song, in literature as the greatest of all virtues. Yet, to truly love is a difficult thing, in part because to love first means to understand love, and to understand love means understanding dying.

When we talk about how we love something we often mean it in a self-centered way. We love something, or someone, because we admire who they are or what they do, or because they do something that gives us joy, physical comfort, or satisfies out desires. So often, when people say, “I love you” the emphasis seems to be on the “I” part - I love you because of what you do for me.

A love that is based on what the other person is or does is prone to failure. After all, eventually we will discover that the other person is not perfect, maybe does some things or believes some things that we cannot accept. Do you stop loving the person at that point? If the love we have for another is based on admirable traits in that person, that love can fail the moment we discover the other person also has some not-so-admirable traits.

And, if you love a person because of what they believe in, or their appearance, or something similar, what happens to that love when the person changes? We all change as we go through life. Physical beauty fades, physical strength wanes, and desires and concerns shift over time. A love that is based on some concept of compatibility will fail as people change. Love cannot simply be an attitude that sys, “you and I are alike, can benefit each other, so I love you.” That type of love will disintegrate over time.

These represent conditional love, a love that exists in response to something that is worth loving. When we find something beautiful, admirable, compatible with us, that gives us joy, it is natural and expected to love that thing. So, it’s not all bad to love that way, and it’s a good place to start. The problem is that it is a love that can fail, leaving us with a sense of “unrequited love,” emotional pain, disappointment and even despair. Soon, the expectation and desire for love can give way to an apathetic expectation that true love does not exist, and we just do the best we can with what we have. In the end, although it is much touted and little experienced and all the world is “dying for love” that cannot be found, love dies.

But, there is a higher concept of love that runs throughout human history and is often expressed in our stories and literature — even in the most unexpected places. The quotes from Rowling and Dickens are just two examples. We wouldn’t normally think of writings like these as “Christian” - yet they express the deepest meaning of Christianity. It is as if this idea of Love is embedded into human consciousness at some level. We may not logically understand it, or be able to express why we desire it, but at some level we know that a love that is expressed through sacrifice of itself for someone else is the highest virtue we can attain.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (Joh 3:16)

“As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (Joh 15:9-13)

When the Bible talks of love it is a very different kind of love than what we normally think of and experience. It is not a love based on “you do for me so I do for you.” Because of that, we call this unconditional love. This type of love is different in that it is given because it is the nature of the person to love. It is not the kind of conditional love that we usually talk about where the love exists in us because of something that comes to us. This love exists in the person who loves and projects outward to others. When love is given because it is in the nature of the person to love it can survive beyond any failings of others. This is a love that never fails.

It is this type of love, the love that is simply inherent in a person, that leads to sacrifice for the benefit of others. It is a love that demands we do what is necessary for the well-being of another even if it causes loss for ourselves. That is not an easy thing to do, and thus it is rare in this world, and probably is why this type of sacrificial love is held up as such a high standard. To give all for the benefit of another goes beyond any selfish thought.

One thing, however, should be noted. Sometimes what appears to be sacrificial love is really a kind of self-serving attitude. There are heroes of history, myth and literature who give up life rather than back down from danger and conflict. We often admire that type of figure because of his courage and tenacity. But, that type of sacrifice is born of pride. The hero would rather die than be thought of as a coward or a weakling. That is not the true sacrificial love that the Bible talks about.

The sacrificial love of the Bible is something innate in the being of God and thus it is a trait that can only be expressed in us when it comes from God’s spirit within us. God, as infinite, self-sustaining being, can pour Himself out without loss. In our limited, physical existence, our normal instinct for self-preservation prevents us from naturally having this type of sacrificial attitude. To have in us the type of love that God shows for us requires that we receive it from Him. When the spirit of God infuses our being, we naturally project that same love from Him towards others. Love from God through us can pour out continuously because we are not dependent on our finite capacity as a source of love for others. In other words, we cannot by our own desire and will power express this love towards others. We cannot by our power alone put aside the desires of our own flesh. We can quickly become drained when the love is poured from us into others. To have this love in us means we must first die to self and allow God to breath through us. We must die for love, quite literally, in order that we might love. Just as we must rely on God for our righteousness, we must also rely on God for our capacity to love. This is another aspect of faith - reliance on God, not on our self. True faith in God manifests His love in us. To seek to love others so that God will love us is doomed to failure. Living by faith that God’s spirit will move through us will succeed.

This is one of the deepest meanings in the Christian Gospel. Jesus had that spirit of God in Him. He would rather sacrifice himself than have God’s love for the world go unfulfilled. As John 15:19 says, “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you.” As Jesus loved us, so we must love one another. But, we must always remember that it is not our strength that gives us this ability to love. To love others more requires that we first love God above all else, even our own lives. In that state of submission to God’s will, God’s nature shines through us into the world. In the end, to love more, we must be more loved. We must open the heart and the mind to God’s power and spirit and from that we gain the ability to truly love that which God loves. We must follow in the footsteps of Jesus, dying to self so that we and others may experience the love of God.

“And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.” (Mar 12:29-34)

Today I washed the car. It’s kind of a strange idea, washing the car, since it doesn’t make it run any better and it will just be dirty again in a week. Yet, I always feel like the car is easier to drive after washing, even though rationally I know it doesn’t really make any difference. There’s just something about a shiny clean car, I guess. I like to go the coin-op place where you have to get out and wash the car with the high-pressure hose rather than the places where you just sit in the car and the machines wash over you. Sitting in the car without seeing whether or not it is really getting clean bothers me I suppose. I like to see the dirt coming off. There is something refreshing about that.

These do-it-yourself places have a little box with a switch where you select what comes out of the hose. There are settings for pre-soak, high-pressure soap, high-pressure rinse, tire cleaner, wax and foaming-brush. That’s quite a selection and at only 25 cents a minute I think it’s a pretty good deal. There is one other setting that has always fascinated me. It’s the “spot free rinse” setting. I don’t know what exactly they do to make it “spot free” but it does seem to work. It’s a low-pressure setting and the water just kinda floats over the car and runs off in sheets. Whatever it is doing it seems to work and I like to finish up with the “spot free” rinse.

Now, you might think that since what you want is to rinse the dirt off the car and make it spot free that you could just select the “spot free rinse” setting and have at it. But, no, that won’t work. That setting is just for the finishing touches. To get the car clean you either have to scrub with the foaming brush (which is really funky) or go over the car with the high-pressure soap first. If the car is really dirty and grimy, I’ll even start with the pre-soak. The point is that you can’t just take the short, soft, easy way of getting things clean. You need some soap and you need some pressure to get the accumulated dirt off of the car.

Something else I would like to mention is that you need to work “top down.” If you try to wash the car from the bottom up, the dirt from the top runs down where you just cleaned and gets it dirty again. No, you have to go in the right direction or don’t even bother. It’s soap first, top down, then high-pressure rinse, top down, and then (and only then) can you switch to the soft, gentle “spot free rinse.”

Got the picture?

It’s the same with spiritual growth and healing. We Christians talk a lot about being “washed clean” by the blood of Jesus. This is, of course, a spiritual metaphor for the removal of sin and corruption through the sacrifice and Spirit of Christ working in us. We even talk about being “without spot or wrinkle” some times. Kinda like a “spot free rinse” in other words. It would be nice to think that it is a simple, gentle washing away of the sin and corruption. The truth is, being washed by the blood is a whole cycle of cleaning that starts with a good dunkin’ and goes on to a high-pressure scrubbing before getting to the point of that gentle, soft final rinse.

A lot of so-called spiritual teachings these days are built on a very different idea. They make you think that it’s all “love and light” and making life good, and happiness and prosperity, etc. I’m sure you know the drill. They sell you their brand of religion by telling you that it’s all worked out by the experts, and just do what we tell you, and every thing will be much, much better for you.

The message of the Gospel has always been different from that. This message is that we are very dirty, have to get cleaned up, and it’s going to take some real work, possibly some painful experiences, before things get all nice and “spot free.” It’s a difficult message to sell to some people because of that, but this is the honest truth about spiritual growth. We don’t really realize how bad off we are until we come face-to-face with the reality of God’s perfection in the person of Jesus Christ. It’s called “being broken” and “humbled” for a good reason. What stands between man and God is man’s arrogant, self-centered, rebelliousness. Until that is washed away, there can be no real spiritual cleansing and renewal.

Also, remember that it has to be “top-down” not “bottom up.” That means that, first of all, God does the cleaning. Just as important, it is the internal spiritual condition that has to be dealt with first. So often, man thinks he knows what is wrong, and prays for God to fix things, only to find out there is a much deeper wound or corruption in the spirit that has to be dealt with. It’s like someone who only wants the symptoms of the disease cleaned up but doesn’t want the root source to be dealt with. God is going to go to work on the real cause of our sin, not just the outward appearance of sin. That is something that very few understand. We want God to fix what we perceive as the problem not even realizing that He is going to REALLY fix things. Like trying to wash the car bottom-up, if you don’t remove the nature of the sin, you just get dirty again and again and again.

That final clean, spot-free, shiny appearance that we would equate with the spiritually righteous man only comes after a long process of high-pressure spiritual soaking, scrubbing, and rinsing. Better get used to it. Even more, be thankful that God loves you enough to go to all that trouble, even when you don’t quite understand what is going on or how these trials and tribulations will make things run smoother in the end.

Unlike washing the car, a spiritual “spot free rinse” is going to make a big, big difference in your life.

 ”The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.” (Psa 14:1)

Let’s assume, arguendo as they say, that there is no God. What then? Can I then say that the purpose of my life is as I define it? Can I say that what is good for me is what I define as good? Sure. Since there is no higher ontological category of being, there is no one superior to me in regard to defining either purpose of life or morality. At least, that’s the way I would see it, if I were to say there was no God.

Well now, that sounds good. I can define for myself what I think is right for me, and you can define for yourself what you think is right for you. Now, what do we do with the sociopath? His idea of “good” may very well include lying, stealing, cheating, murdering, whatever it takes, to get what he wants. Well now, we can’t have that! He might interfere with my “right for me” and your “right for you” so we have to gang up on the S.O.B and make sure that sociopath doesn’t do something to interfere with our “right” to define what is right. Yes indeed, taken to the logical conclusion, if no one has the right to declare an absolute morality then man ends up by necessity being subservient to the will of the more powerful - usually the political collective or an organized crime syndicate (not that there’s all that much difference most of the time). In other words, although I have a right to define what is good for me, I cannot exercise that right without the agreement of the collective society. That’s a logical conclusion in direct conflict with the stated premise, and that is the hallmark of an irrational philosophy.

Well, perhaps we can get around that by saying that the rational thing for me to do is whatever it takes to increase my chance of survival and pleasure, and that means cooperating with the collective will in order to get a mutual benefit. Yep, if I were an atheist I’d be down on the front pew in Church every Sunday so that the “Christians” would leave me alone. (I have this suspicion that’s precisely where the real atheists are.) The same would be true in a Muslim or Buddhist society. Go along with the majority religion to get along in society would be the rational conclusion. Only one hour a week listening to some nice music and a short sermon, and then I get to do whatever I want the rest of the time without having them bother me. It seems that living a lie would be the “rational” thing to do.

Fine, except, the premise is that my purpose, my “teleology” is to maintain my existence with the greatest pleasure. Having to give in to the will of others to get along is often in conflict with my desires. Furthermore, as any rational person knows, with absolute certainty, my physical existence is only sustained by work, and will come to an end with my death. To maximize my pleasure may very well mean that I should enslave you so that I don’t have to work. But however I approach it, if continued existence with pleasure is my goal in life, my goal in life is doomed to failure. Yet, I am to pursue that goal anyway. That’s irrational if you ask me.

So, I hear these folks say that they are not bothered by the lack of an after-life because they will live on in future generations, or because of the things they do that are beneficial to future humanity. Really? Well, to begin with, most people will leave this existence with only a few people even noticing they are gone. Most people will never make it to the top of society or into the history books. The odds of being remembered by future generations are so bad that betting on that is really irrational. I think you probably have a better chance of winning the lottery. But, who cares? I wouldn’t. If my consciousness dissipates at my death, there would be no “me” left to care whether I was remembered or not. It’s a silly, emotional illusion to avoid the reality that we are born, live, and die with most of the world not even taking notice. The way I would see it would be that I wouldn’t care at all what happens to the rest of the world ten seconds after I’m dead. After all, there would be no “me” left to notice, now would there? If I don’t believe in an after-life it is irrational to even be concerned with what happens after my death. I’m certainly not going to be concerned about future human misery, environmental destruction, global warming, or anything else that doesn’t immediately affect me. It would be irrational to worry about those things and a waste of my time to spend my life trying to solve future problems.

But, who says you have to be rational? The atheists do, and are quite adamant about it. They complain that belief in God is irrational while they pile one irrational belief on top of another. Good grief. I would like to meet a real atheist some day. A real atheist would never try to tell me that I “ought” or “ought not” do anything. Since he is not ontologically superior to me, he has no basis for telling me that I ought to do anything. He can’t even tell me I ought not believe in God without violating his own ontological premise.

That’s why I say that atheism is a philosophical system for irrational fools.

Seems the Bible was right all along.