The Unreasonableness of Love

    I was impressed lately by a little book, written by Richard Wurmbrand, during his time in prison in solitary confinement.  He was shut up with God, and the rats, and the stark realities of prison life.  And the sweetness of his communion with God in that place shines out of his writings.  I thought I'd share a portion that really blessed me today, about love.
    "Reason will tell you about the foolishness of the cross.  Jesus was young, handsome, vigorous.  He could have made a good living as a carpenter, or as a doctor of the law.  He could have married and enjoyed life.  Why die to save people who do not want to be saved?  Why start something which will not be accepted, or even heard of, by the overwhelming majority of mankind, and which will be practised only by a few isolated saints?
    Who would conceive such an unreasonable project? Only Paul dared to answer this question.  A chill runs down your spine when you hear the answer.  The Bible is the only religious book to contain such an expression, which must surely be considered a blasphemy by all the religions of the world, including Christianity - "the foolishness of God!"
    Love must submit to being condemned by reason.  I told my missionary friend: "Just follow the promptings of love. Don't try to justify your actions by arguments."
    We in prison use the same unreasonableness.  When we hear the cries of someone being beaten, all the others begin to bang on their doors, "Help! Help! Stop beating!"  There is nobody to hear us, except those who are beating and who now, instead of beating only one, beat us all up, one after the other.
    What is the sense of a collective protest here?  What is the sense of expressing your solidarity with those who are beaten?  It is non-sense, which means that it is pure love.  Love does not think about what it will achieve, what it will gain.  Love does not think at all.  Love does not care about reason.  Why should it?"

    I was challenged by those words.  I long to love like that.  I long to see love like that, lived out in the church and among God's people.  Not just rational, count-the-cost-first love, but unreasonable, irrational love.  Love like Jesus loves us with.  

Richard Wurmbrand