Who Am I? I'm Believer in Love

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"And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us." 1 John 3:23 English Standard Version

I miss my rose plants in Portland, Oregon, the Rose City. I've tried planting roses in Colorado Springs, but it's not the same.

There is something magical about roses that makes us think of love.

Throughout history the rose has symbolized love and not only in the secular world, but also in the church. The charity of Jesus' mother, Mary, was pictured by St. Bernard of Clairvaux as a red rose. Luther used a white rose in his seal. At Christmas we sing, "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming."

We, men, give roses to that special woman we love, but guys it's hard to buy roses, isn't it? The last place we want to be is in a florist shop. It's not the most masculine place in the world. It's got cute sayings on balloons. And it smells, well, like flowers (a man want to smell like a man).

So, why do we enter this foreign world? Because we believe in the love we have for that special woman in our lives.

Love calls us to believe in the One who was crucified for us. We believe in the name of Jesus because we've experience from him something we don't experience much of elsewhere. In Jesus we experience grace.

It is by this grace that we love others. We believe in love because of Jesus, and as those who believe in Jesus we go to uncomfortable places to express love to each other. We cry with the grieving widow. We listen to a father sharing his pain in parenting. We walk with a friend through the valley of addiction. It's what we do because we believe in the one who did it for us.

Who am I? I'm a believer in love, because God's love has captivated me.

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Text and Photographs ©Copyright 2012-2015 Douglas P. Brauner.  ARR.