So This is Love...

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”  1 John 4:7-8

Last June, the Supreme Court came to an historical and game-changing decision when it ruled that gay marriage is a constitutional right. In one fell swoop, SCOTUS redefined the nature of marriage in the United States. Within hours, social media erupted with the hashtag #lovewins, which quickly became the anthem of celebration for those supporting gay marriage. Even today, #lovewins represents a culture war in which traditional morals and values clash with a society that embraces an amoral, anti-Christian worldview.

Redeeming "Love"

If there is one word I would use to describe our world at this time, it would be this: confused. As time has unfolded and choices have been made, we find ourselves now in a world where the most basic aspects of human identity are being called into question. Biological makeup is no longer considered an adequate definition of gender; internal feelings and desires are the determining factors. Marriage and fidelity are believed to be outdated and have been traded for an “anything goes” mentality. Life itself is no longer understood as a beating heart or a functioning brain, and now individual comforts, preferences, and conveniences can be offered as legitimate reasons to terminate the lives of others. 

We are a nation polarized, a house divided, and we have no real direction. Like a frog slowly being boiled in a pot of water, the result is that we find our nation creeping further and further into a destructive moral vacuum.

Becoming Mom

Nestled in the beginning pages of 1 Samuel, we meet her. Not many details are given about her life. We don’t know if she had siblings, who her parents were, or what she liked to do in her spare time. We don’t know how old she was or what she looked like. Though many details are missing, we are given insight into two very personal matters of her heart: she was loved deeply by her husband, and she was barren. Her name was Hannah.