2022 Needs A NEW Variant! … Happy New Year to all my readers. You bless me and encourage me in my writing and I hope I do the same for all of you. So, off to another year in sharing devotions!

OK—you might have hesitated when you saw the title of this New Year’s Day musings and I don’t blame you. After 2020 and now 2021, there are some words we’d rather throw out of our vocabulary! However, this pandemic doesn’t care about our words. But I wanted to take one of the words, ‘variant’ and turn it from negative to positive and that doesn’t mean your Covid test!

The other day, a dear friend of mine, Fr. Michael Lapsely, posted a picture which included a very powerful quote “My hope is that LOVE becomes the dominant variant.” Doesn’t that just touch your heart? It did mine, and immediately it brought to mind all of the first responders who continue to tirelessly attend to people in the hospital Covid wards. At their own peril, they don’t give up. In fact, their love is so strong they don’t even give up on those who won’t get vaccinated and as sick as they are, still don’t think this virus is more than a flu. I don’t think I could have such compassion, although I wish I did and their example is something I would like to attain.

As we enter into another year we often have hopes and dreams that it will be better than the last year. After looking at statistics, this has actually been the top “desire” for years of our “New Year’s Resolutions.” Sadly, we know how easy it is to make a list of resolutions but never follow through on them. One psychologist says “resolutions are like goals, but if they aren’t attainable, they become the ‘evil stepmother’ that one avoids.”

What are you wanting for year 2022—personally and otherwise? It’s easy to say world peace, that’s another top 10 in resolutions, but still seems very far out of reach. However, thinking about that and the quote from Fr. Lapsley, reminds me that one person is not going to change what is wrong in the world. It takes all of us working together, right? And doing that is close to impossible, especially in our society today.

There is however, one 4-letter word that brings unity, compassion, caring, and hope and that is LOVE. Not just a song about love, but embracing agapé love—the kind Jesus calls us to. We can ‘love hamburgers’-‘love dark chocolate’-even say ‘I love you’ but the English language doesn’t quite equate with agapé love. However, the Greek language used in the Bible does equate to agapé love.

C.S. Lewis talked about 4 different kinds of love:
1) storge… affection/familial love. 2) eros…from the word ‘erotic’ is romantic love.
3) philia…friendship love. And 4) agapé…the highest of all love.

C.S. Lewis also wrote this about agape love: “one that is unconcerned with the self and concerned with the greatest good of another. Agapé love isn’t born just out of emotions, feelings, familiarity, or attraction, but from the will and as a choice. Agapé requires faithfulness, commitment, and sacrifice without expecting anything in return.”

In the Bible, agapé love is the love that comes from God because God IS love. God’s love isn’t sentimental; it’s part of God’s character. God is love and God instituted love in all of his creation—including you and me. Aren’t you grateful? I know I am, and yet I know I often lack in demonstrating that love in my life.

In 1 John 4: [NLT] we read: “But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”  In other words, there would be no kind(s) of love at all without God. Let that sink in for a minute because this is important: no God-no love—so, for those unbelieving people that rub you the wrong way—it’s time we let them off the hook. Without God’s love they cannot have the perspective on life, love, compassion, etc. They may speak of love, but without God their ‘love’ is empty—like hollow hearts with no love to fill them up.

What happens with those who believe and seem just as hollow in their love? They’ve changed their perspective by the influence of all kinds of things in this world. Whether unbelieving or believing, Jesus has given us a job to reach out with his agapé love to then all. There is no substitution! You may think you are not getting through, but stay with it, agapé love is the job of the Holy Spirit and you are the conduit.

This all brings me to a close with the quote I shared in the beginning: “My hope is that LOVE becomes the dominant variant” (that no virus can crush). How about we use this powerful short sentence at the top of our “New Year Resolutions List?” Since this kind of love has God’s fingerprints all over it, why not try – each one reach one as they say? Perhaps, just perhaps amidst all the craziness and messiness we live in, one by one we can change the world? It is possible—but only through Jesus’ agapé love.

Blessed New Year to you all and to all a precious AMEN!