I’ve always loved the song “You Can’t Hurry Love.” Who among us hasn’t song along with Miss Ross as she belts out “but mama said…”? Many times in my single days this song would remind me that I had to “trust, give it time, no matter how long it takes.”
The song, is catchy, and is, I believe, in some respects true. I’m a firm proponent that waiting for who God has in store for you is a much better idea than rushing around to find someone. I know for certain that it worked in my case. A husband like mine is a rare jewel indeed, and looking back, every bit of waiting was definitely worth it.
However, while the romantic implications of this song may be true, there’s another aspect of it that doesn’t resonate. Sure, maybe we shouldn’t be rushing to make someone into our soul mate, but I do think that, in a sense, we can hurry love. Now, before I lose you, this isn’t another blog about how “you have to put yourself out there” – a horrible phrase if you ask me. Instead, I think we can hurry love of a different kind, the kind of love that calls people to Christ and displays His glory.
“How?” you may ask, and rightly so. The answer is that we must be that dispenser of love. Now, this doesn’t mean that we will always get love in return. Christ expressly says that if we love Him, we will be persecuted. However, it does mean that as we reflect Him, and His love, we hasten people’s reception of Him. We hurry love by acting like the One who is love personified, and in doing so, more people love Him.
Miss Ross’s mama may have been right, but the Word of God is righter still. It says we should love others as Christ loved us. Let’s hasten towards that goal, and in doing so, hurry others toward Him.