Go Team Love!

I ran the Marine Corps Marathon this past Sunday. It was Reformation Sunday, so being Lutheran and all, I felt a little guilty about skipping church on this particular Sunday. I wanted my dose of "freed by grace through faith alone" - which in regular English means to us all that we're absolutely OK in God's eyes. And being OK is something that most of us struggle with, even if it's just a teeny-tiny struggle. The Reformation is/was about many things, but mostly, it was about getting Jesus' message of LOVE out to everyone.

I had already reconciled my missing worship on Sunday. I was running for a charity organization called Love Without Boundaries. They do really amazing and inspiring work with children in China who are born with cleft palates and some with heart conditions. These children are given a chance at life through the LOVE of those involved in this organization. Through the LOVE of doctors, LOVE of caregivers, LOVE of administrators, LOVE of adoptive families, LOVE of contributors, LOVE of runners. I know I'm forgetting someone, but you get the point - through LOVE, the smallest of the small, the least among us is given a chance. So, I was happy to be worshipping God in a different way this past Sunday.

But, God has this funny way of speaking to us when we least expect it...and I gotta say, when I'm running 26.2 miles, what I want to hear from God is "You made it" or "You're done" or "Here, let me run these last 10 miles for you." Yeah, well, no such luck, but I did hear from many, many people (almost all strangers), "GO TEAM LOVE". And, I thought, "Hey, today that's me..I'm part of TEAM LOVE!" Isn't that great?!

"GO TEAM LOVE!"

So, right there, in the middle of Constitution Avenue in Washington DC, I heard God say, "LOVE, it wins outs!" Love wins out even when we're exhausted. Love wins out when we don't think we can take another step. Love wins out when we can't see the finish line.

Love wins out because Love is a team... Father, Son, Holy Spirit...Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer...

So, today I say to anyone who has ears, "GO TEAM LOVE!" Love will never fail.