Love won, and love still wins.

John 13:34-35 (NRSV):
"I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" - Jesus.

"Love wins." That's what the bumper-sticker says. When Rob Bell's church, Mars Hill, first started growing at a rapid pace, that became their mantra, so-to-speak, or, as most of us would call it these days, their "mission statement."

Love wins. It's the truth, and the reality of what it means to follow Jesus. But, honestly, if we are going to understand this statement in it's full truth, we must clarify what it means to "win."

Our Culture

We live in the culture of glamour, success, beauty, and instant gratification. We root for the championship winning teams (at least those of us who aren't Cubs fans), our kids get a trophy at the end of the season even if they lose, and the latest heretical crap book from Joel Osteen is sitting on our coffee table.

To us, it would be easy to misinterpret "love wins" to mean that it will be easy, bring success, and always result in a warm-fuzzy feeling on the inside. Of course, love could never bring us harm, right?

Ask God

Well, ask God to show you a picture of what it means to have victory, to always love, and to win. Go ahead, ask, and He will bring before your eyes and astonishing sight: His Son, naked, bruised, beaten, bloodied, and dying, suffering indescribable pain, hanging on a dirty Roman cross.

You see, at the cross, love won. And love still wins, even though it may cost us everything.

May you see that you are called to love - and, as you do, may you remember that it will often result in your being able to say, with St. Paul, "I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus" (Gal. 6:17 NKJV). And may you understand that this is what it's all about, because bringing heaven to earth doesn't come easy.