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The loved-and-loving paradigm
It was just a scrap of conversation, overheard as I walked to work one day. But it jump-started a train of thought that took me right to a healing truth in the Bible. Here’s what I caught: “We need to love him up so he will love his baby sister.”
I recognized the situation—a youngster rebelling at the introduction of a newborn sibling into his family circle. It’s an old story, sometimes having long-standing repercussions as kids grow up. What I appreciated, though, was the inspired solution: “Love him up.” This family member clearly had more than discipline in mind—she had the little boy’s interests at heart. More, she knew the power of love to melt his resistance, to turn it into affection.
The loved-and-loving paradigm has its roots in Scripture. It’s the model delineated in this verse about God: “We love him, because he first loved us” (I John 4:19). Some scholars note that the word “him” was added by translators, making an even stronger point that our love is a direct outcome of God’s love for us.
Enjoy 1 free Sentinel article or audio program each month, including content from 1898 to today.
May 16, 2016 issue
View Issue-
Letters
Glo, Anne Higgins, Nancy Buckwalter, Phyllis, Roberta
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The loved-and-loving paradigm
Cheryl Ranson
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Universal love
Adelaide Van Landingham
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Out with the old, in with the new!
Juli Vice
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Who told you that, Zambia?
Lawrence Musheba Kuseka
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Purpose and worth—yours right now
Janet Wenrick
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Out from under the shadow
Aidan O’Hagan
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Standing together for healing
Jenny Sawyer
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Eating disorder overcome
Angela Sage Larsen
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Pulled muscle healed
Andie Raffles
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Stomach issue on trip healed
Veronica A. Ragatz
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'Ye shall know them by their fruits'
Photograph by Jenness Schrenzel
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Unsung heroes who rescue Syria’s refugees
The Monitor’s Editorial Board
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Love that finds solutions
Susan C. Stark
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The dawn of spiritual light
Barbara Vining