Love is not Polite Agreement

Love is not polite agreement.

It is not silence that keeps the peace.

Love is not thin-skinned.

It does not fold the moment it is misunderstood,

misquoted,

or met with raised voices and shaking fingers.

Love is fierce.

It shows up when it would be easier to scroll past.

It speaks when quiet is tempting.

It refuses to let fear or hate have the final word.

Love is patient,

not because justice is slow,

but because people are complicated

and learning takes time.

Love is kind,

not soft,

but steady.

Love does not delight in outrage

or winning the argument.

It does not keep score

or savor the downfall of another.

Love tells the truth

and stays in the room.

Love bears the weight

of being misunderstood

without hardening the heart.

Love believes there is more to us

than our worst comments,

our loudest fears,

our most defensive moments.

Love is not naive.

It knows the cost.

Love hopes anyway.

Love endures anyway.

Love keeps showing up.

Protecting what is fragile.

Trusting what is still becoming.

Persevering when the work is unfinished.

Love stands with the vulnerable,

not to be admired,

but because love recognizes itself

in the face of the stranger.

Love does not confuse compassion with approval.

It names harm without erasing humanity.

Love sees the image of God

even when it has been buried

beneath fear, power, and cruelty.

Love does not fail

because it is rooted deeper

than approval,

stronger than backlash,

and wider than any line we could draw.

And when chaos rises,

Love stays.

Not louder.

Not harder.

Just faithful.

Bearing all things.

1 Cor 13

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.