Bond of perfection
As I was reading Colossians 3:12-17 the other day, I stopped in my tracks when I came across the verse, “and over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection.” I’ve been contemplating this bond of perfection all week. St. Paul starts this passage by asking us to clothe ourselves in heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience and then he tells us that over all of these is love, and that love is the bond of perfection. What does a bond of perfection look like? If that’s what the Lord wants for us to have, then I really, really want that.
My first thought, nutty as it sounds, was that Krazy glue commercial from the 80’s. If you watched TV in the 80’s you know what I’m talking about. If not, check out Youtube and you can catch a glimpse. The commercial highlights how powerful Krazy glue is by having a construction worker glue his hard hat to a steel beam, supposedly hanging hundreds of feet above the ground. The bond is so strong that it could hold the weight of a man with a single drop of glue. But the man has to hold on to the hard hat, if he doesn’t, the hard hat will remain and he won’t.
The Krazy glue that binds is love. Jesus’ love is perfect, powerful, never ceasing and never lets go. Our love of Him and others, well, that may not be Krazy glue, but more like Rubber Cement, or maybe just Elmer’s. Ever wonder what it must feel like to love without any reservation, without any hesitation; to love unconditionally; to love perfectly and know that chances are pretty darn good that you won’t be loved back in that same way, and yet, not allow that to affect your love? Maybe a question for Jesus when I get to heaven one day (sorry for my digression). In the meantime, how do I pursue this bond of perfection, this love of Jesus and others? I am asking myself, what exactly is love and what does it really look like?
I was led to 1 Corinthians chapter 13. I know we’ve all read it a million times, heard it at all the weddings, probably even our own, and maybe even committed this verse to memory. What I like about doing scripture research on the internet is that I can read different versions of the same verse and compare them. I just love doing that. As I was bouncing around several different versions of this infamous verse, I was captivated by all the different words used to describe love. So I decided to combine all 3 versions into one and here’s what came out:
Love is patient, suffers long and is kind; love does not envy or is it jealous; love does not parade itself, it is not boastful, or puffed up or proud; love does not behave rudely, it does not seek its own, it does not insist on its own ways; love does not dishonor others, it is not provoked and is not easily angered, or irritable or resentful; love thinks no evil, it keeps no records of wrongs, it does not rejoice in iniquity, it does not delight in evil; love rejoices in right and in truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes and always perseveres.
This is how we are loved by Jesus. That is the bond of perfection. His heart is so pure that nothing impedes his love, and this is how we are asked to love Him back, bonded to Him in love. This is how we are asked to love others. It’s a tall order to love like Jesus, a real tall order, but that is what He has asked us to do – “love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34). Although I am likely to say, “well this is impossible, no one can really do this,” as I see the many ways I fail. I must be patient with myself as the verse begins, and always keep hopeful and persevere as the verse ends, and try each day to love as Jesus loves. I would like to Krazy glue myself to Him, to my husband, my children, my loved ones, my friends, my neighbors, my acquaintances, and everyone He places before me and never let go.
