Posted on by wzwiener

Love is the Law

On this Valentine’s Day weekend I have been inspired to share about love.

The inspiration came from my daily reader, “Hope for Each Day” by Billy Graham.

Today’s Bible verse is Romans 13:8, part of which says that “whoever loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.”

This verse—coupled with Valentine’s Day weekend– got me thinking about a number of things.

One of those things is one of my all-time favorite songs, “Love is the Law” by a ‘80s Twin Cities rock band called The Suburbs.

Songwriter Chan Poling got the inspiration for the song when he saw the words “Love is the Law” spray-painted on a wall of a pedestrian tunnel in Minneapolis.

While the song lyrics have nothing directly to do with the above-mentioned Bible verse, they are very much in the same spirit of it. Plus the music is super catchy and upbeat.

The song “Love is the Law” is probably some 40-years-old now but to my ears anyway it is still very much a “banger.” Plus it has positive lyrics to boot.

Its message—plus this being Valentine’s Day weekend—also got me thinking about the card (pictured with this post) that my friend and former co-worker Ma made a few years ago. It features a photo of my late buddy Caleb, who taught me a whole lot about love.  

I totally agree with what it says on the list of “Things We Learn from a Dog” plaque that I have hanging in my home. At the top of the list is “How to Love Unconditionally.”

Loving unconditionally is something that Billy Graham shares in his reflection on Romans 13:8 in the daily devotional I mentioned above.

“Prejudice or hatred of any person because of his or her racial, ethnic, or religious background is wrong,” he writes. “God labels it sin.”

“God created every one of us,” Graham writes, “and when we hate someone who is different from us, we are hating someone who God has made and who is valuable in his sight.”

With all of the hate that seems to be going around these days I find these words to be a great reminder.

On Valentine’s Day weekend, it’s a reminder that “Love is the Law.”

Not just with our sweetheart, but with our enemies as well.

Posted on by wzwiener

Late Bloomers

As we say goodbye to summer and hello to fall one of the many things that I am grateful for is late bloomers.

While fall is a beautiful time of year here in the upper Midwest—what with the changing colors and abundant sunshine that we usually get—I have to say that it’s always hard to see summer go. Its abundance of warm air, sunshine, birds, plants, and flowers is hard to beat for the amount of joy that it brings into our lives.

Having to see these things go is one reason why I enjoy the sight of late bloomers this time of year. It is mid October as I write this and I have tomato, morning glory, and cosmos plants that are still blooming in my garden.

The sight of them helps to keep alive a taste of summer even as it comes to a close. It also gives me hope in my personal life as well.

Without divulging my exact age—yes, I am getting a little vain, defensive and probably in a fair amount of denial about it—I have to admit that I am well into what are often referred to as my “sunset” years.

Sometimes this realization makes me sad. But then I remember what my faith teaches me.

The Bible is filled with people who God used to do great things when they were well into their “sunset” years.

The Bible also tells us that for those who believe, our “sunset” years are actually a sunrise because the paradise of heaven awaits us.

It’s a reassurance that helps me to strike a happy balance between holding on and letting go. I can hold on to the sunshine of summer while letting go of my disappointment that it doesn’t last longer.

All while giving thanks for the tomatoes, morning glories, cosmos, and all of the other late bloomers out there!

Posted on by wzwiener

Favorite Colors

Back when we were kids my sister Betsy and I had a running argument about our favorite colors.

She maintained that there is more blue in the world while I argued that there is more green.

Looking back, I am willing to admit that Betsy was probably right. With the sky overhead and the numerous lakes, rivers, and oceans below, there is probably way more blue in the world than there is green.

But I still say that my favorite color is pretty well-represented as well, what with all of the grass, plants, and leaves that cover God’s green Earth.

There are a couple of reasons why I recently found myself thinking of green and blue.

One was a weekly visit to the family lake place in northern Minnesota. The sky always seems a little bluer and the trees a little greener up north.

The other was an excellent sermon at my church recently—Peace Lutheran in Eau Claire, Wisc.—about how we humans are a part of God’s creation. The Bible tells us that God made us from dust, after he created the heavens and the earth.

Science backs up this link between us humans and the rest of God’s creation in that we have learned that human DNA has much in common with the DNA of other living things on earth.

It’s good to remember the connectedness we have with the other parts of God’s creation, Pastor Ethan shared in the sermon, because it helps to keep us grounded.

As humans, it seems, we have a tendency to overemphasize the mental side of things. We can easily get so caught up in our head—our thoughts, worries, fears, and ruminations–that we go down the proverbial rabbit hole and wind up getting lost in our own little world.

One good way to prevent this from happening is to stay grounded in the physical part of God’s creation.  And one of the many awesome parts of God’s creation that he/she has blessed us with is color.

There are the aforementioned green and blue.

The brown and white sands of the beaches.

The brown and black soil of the fields.

The black, brown, gray, and red rocks of the mountains.

The yellow, red, and orange leaves in the fall.

And the brilliant greens, reds, pinks, and purples of the northern lights that I keep seeing photos of online but never seem to see in person.

Part of that is because I live in a fairly big city where bright lights, homes, buildings, and trees block my view of the horizon.

Another is that I don’t do my daily run after dark.

If I did run late in the evening, I’d probably come to an open stretch where I’d have a full view of the horizon and be treated to the sight of northern lights if they were out.

But I am mainly a morning—and sometimes early evening—runner. So the aerial display of colors that I am often treated to comes via sunrises, sunsets, and amazing morning and evening skies. And they are more than enough to remind me of a couple of things.

One is that my sister was probably right. There probably is more blue in the world than there is green.

Two is that with so many beautiful colors above, below, and around us, our world must have been created by a loving God.

The chance to enjoy all of this beauty is one of the many things that I love about running and walking outdoors for exercise.

Like many people, one way that I find God is in the G.O.D. (great out doors).