I once found myself in a difficult situation with a colleague whom I treasured. I had to exclude this person from a project. I knew this action would wound terribly, but I had to do what was right. The situation pushed me to an emotional and spiritual breaking point.
In the midst of the crisis, I sought out my boss, Bruce Larson. After discussion and prayer, Bruce led me from his office with his arm around my shoulder saying, “I am convinced you are acting in love; but, the real problem is that nobody knows what color love is.” I walked toward my office pondering Bruce’s comment.
As I sat in contemplation, I received a visual image of this large woven basket-box of crayons in every color. I imagined myself digging through all of these colors seeking the one that was “love” for my particular situation. It was a horrifying challenge.
What color is love? We don’t always know. But we can orient our lives in such a way that we are intent upon looking for that color in our relationships and behaviors.
Examine Your Heart
“The goal of our instructions is love which comes from a pure heart, a clean conscience and a sincere faith” (1 Timothy 1:15).
This single verse from mentor Paul to his young friend Timothy is so powerful. Work with it. The goal of all of our instruction is love.
Paul qualifies love nicely so that it is not ambiguous. He tells us that in order to discern what color love might be at any given time, we need to operate from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a sincere faith.
“Purity of heart,” said Soren Kierkegaard, “is to will one thing.” No one but God can truly know our motives. So much of what we mask as love is fear, the need to be right, the need to be in control, etc. Purity of heart calls us to a sifting of the motives.
The legendary coach John Wooden once said, “There is no better pillow to sleep on than a clear conscience.” As we contemplate actions and search our motives, is there anything within us that needs to be dealt with first? In my difficult situation, I realized I could not love my friend by excluding him unless I came to grips with my own experiences of rejection. I confessed my bitterness and resentment about those experiences to the Lord.
The third element in this test, a sincere faith, is not a large faith, not a dramatic faith, not a horribly pious faith; it is simply faith lived from the heart. It is radical abandonment to the love and will of God.
Accept no substitutes: love is what it is all about. Love is the mark of spiritual maturity and progress. Love of God and others is the only pure source of motivation. Love of God’s ability to change the world through Holy Spirit-inspired acts of love is the goal of all spiritual pilgrimages.
Excerpted from our sister publication Leadership journal, © 2005 Christianity Today International. For more articles like this, visit www.Leadershipjournal.net
Discuss
- Describe a difficult situation you’ve been in. What color was love in that moment?
- If someone were on the outside looking in, would they characterize our ministry and leadership with the word love?
- How can we—as leaders—help each other develop pure hearts, clear consciences, and sincere faiths?
You can view the original version of this article on LeadershipJournal.net
