Last week, my family and I decided to paint the deck of our house. Following my uncle’s instructions, we dipped our paintbrushes in the heavy, reddish brown can of paint and then carefully ladled the planks of the deck that had cracks in them. By the time we were done, all the cracks on the deck were covered, as if they never existed. I had a sudden thought of God’s love doing the same with us. (His love also being the nature of what true, pure love is). That’s when I heard a little voice in my head saying love is like paint, didn’t you know? Just like you, I wondered how. Here is what the Holy Spirit said:
1. Paint covers cracks— Love covers sins.
Paint covers the cracks and God’s love covers a multitude of sins–– all sins in fact (1 Peter 4:8 & Proverbs 4:8). God loves us no matter how imperfect we are. He loves us in ways we hope other humans could— with our cracks and our fissures and our imperfections. His love is so similar to paint that in covering our cracks, He also erases our sins. He covers us with a new, fresh coating of HIS perfection. His supernatural beauty conceals our natural deformities. He fills in the gaps with His being, thus making us whole. Likewise, the nature of the love we have for others covers their sins to some extent— we see their flaws but we choose to love them regardless of the ways in which they are not whole. We choose to cover their brokenness with our love–– thereby telling them: you may be cracked, but your cracks cannot stop me from loving you.
2. Paint can’t be washed away by water— Love can’t be swept away by rivers.
Remember that time you were painting on a canvas and made a mistake with the paint but could not wash it away? Or that time you were painting your house and paint splattered on a side you didn’t tape, but you couldn’t wash it off? Yep, that’s paint for you. Once paint is on, it’s done. If you try to wash it off with water, it will only mix with the water and spread deeper on the surface it’s on. In other words, paint is (mostly) permanent. Similarly, true love never fades and never dies down. In fact, love cannot be quenched by water and cannot be swept away by rivers (Song of Sol. 8:6-7). That’s why we can go to bed each night in peace, knowing that our Father in heaven loves us FOREVER. It may be one of the aspects of His love that is most incomprehensible to us because even we do not always know how to love people forever. However, we have an idea of what eternal love looks like, thanks to those special people in our lives that we can’t stop loving: our parents, children, siblings, partners… We are beings of love, who both need love and give love. Of course, we are fallible humans who may not always love well, or who may at times not feel love for people. But God? God loves…permanently. He has loved us with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3). Brothers and sisters, take heart! Even when everything else fails you, God’s love never will. His love is indelible and cannot be washed away by anything––not water, not alcohol, not dissolvent…nothing.
3. Paint is art— Love is art.
Think about it. All the millions spent on paintings all over the world by famous artists ranging from Van Gogh to Picasso to Monet to Frida Kahlo to Michelangelo…the list is endless, and the reason why is clear: humanity needs art to live. Why? Because we ourselves are masterpieces–– art works of the divine Artist, God. Humans use paint to create explosive, vibrant, beautiful paintings that speak to our souls and heal us in ways we can’t even begin to understand. These paintings offer us an escape, bring life to our lives and are beautiful to behold. And love? Love is the greatest masterpiece of all times. It has survived centuries of hatred and opposition in the world. Love is what has united mankind again and again, against plagues, wars, natural disasters, and so on. Ultimately, without God’s love, we would be nothing. But because of His love we are. His love is what makes us new every day of our lives. His love is.
4. Paint protects surfaces— Love protects people.
As mentioned earlier, paint is used to protect surfaces. It protects wood from rotting, steel from rusting and walls from molding. The fundamental goal of paint is protection and preservation. Love too, never seeks its own (1 Cor. 3:5) but always protects (1 cor. 3:7, NIV). Because of love, parents protect their kids from all sorts of evil, ranging from physical to emotional and mental harm. How much more our Father in heaven who protects us from the evil one (John 17:15) and keeps us from harm. Love is a force to be reckoned with on our earth today–– that’s why so many singers sing about it, writers write about it, and painters paint about it. Everyone wants love. Everyone wants to be loved. The power of love is in its nature: it is self-sacrificial to the core. It is always thinking of how to shelter the object of its affection. Undeniably, you too can easily recall the different ways in which you have protected your loved ones. You do it all the time, and they seek to protect you too because of the love they feel for you. Without love, we are so vulnerable.
5. Paint endures all conditions— Love endures all things.
We use paint for everything and the goal of paint is to last. Especially on the outside of our houses, we want paint that will resist harsh weather conditions ranging from snow storms to blistering heat. We want paint that will continue to cover the walls and not wear off, or fall away. Paint also endures our human actions because we walk on it, write on it, scrape it and use it for our own enjoyment. Clearly, paint does endure a lot in the hands of both humans and the weather. Love too, is the same way. Love endures all things, bears all things and suffers long (1 Corinthians 13:4 and 7). Without love, marriages fall apart, friendships break down and relationships dissolve. But where there is love, you can be sure that there is sacrificial endurance. People who love others, choose to bear the pain their loved ones inflict. When you love someone, whether it be your parents, your children, your friends or your partner, you choose to stay. You choose to be with them and support them no matter what. You choose to be there for them even when they hurt you or hurt themselves. You do not abandon them at their worst because that would not really be love. How much more God, who constantly and perpetually loves us regardless of how much we hurt Him, insult Him, abandon Him, despise Him, blame Him… (I could go on forever). The amazing thing is, even when we as humans fail to love wholesomely or continuously, even when we back down or give up on others or when others give up on us, God never does. His love is forever and nothing can ever separate us from His love. Not even you reading this, no matter what your convictions are about Him (Rom. 8:38-39).
You may be shaking your head right now, thinking “too deep, too deep–– who brings up an analogy between love and paint?” In which case, I wouldn’t blame you. It is a rather unusual analogy. But you know what is even more unusual? Love itself. It is like nothing you can think of. Love escapes our understanding and that is why we fail so miserably to love people, at different times in our lives. My friend came to this realization by stating how God “loves us through the bad and the struggles and in some sense He can’t change us because (change is) a choice and to love someone in that place (wherever they are emotionally, physically or spiritually) is true love. That’s the love God has for us that we should have for each other.” Dear friend, brother, sister, reader… how are you loving today? And how are you learning to appreciate the flood of God’s love in your life?
