Meditation Upon A Tweet

[Jesus scrolling through Twitter]

As per usual, I am committed to completely avoiding the news of the day. Because it’s really bad out there. And I’m depressed enough as it is. So instead I’ve just taken a little gander at the Wednesday Wisdom Hashtag on Twitter where I discovered this gem:

True LOVE sees no flaws.
It is “blind” to everything
but its universal laws.

Embracing, inviting,
accepting, exciting…

…LOVE is
who YOU are.

Ah, this is just what I needed. Something easy, trite, and ridiculous. And also contradictory to a fantastical degree, given where I found it. So let’s work through the logic of the thing, shall we, and see what may be seen.

First of all, “True love sees no flaws.” That’s a very interesting proposition. Love, in this case, seems a sort of disembodied personality or force field that processes the capacity to see, on the one hand, and not see, on the other. Whatever things it might see, and we don’t know what those are because they’re aren’t named, we are assured that it does not see “flaws.” Which, I would take, probably, to be those little mistakes and foibles that well-meaning people fall into without trying. Like, wouldn’t you know, I am a people pleaser and hate saying no to anyone about anything, and also I sometimes forget to salt the porridge. Fortunately, True Love doesn’t see any of that. I hope this inability to see flaws extends to actual sin as well—like covetousness, murderous thoughts, anger, bitterness, lust, inadvisable tweeting, molesting small children, cheating business partners out of millions of dollars, lying—because otherwise I feel like, seriously, what’s the point.

Let’s see, next line, “It is ‘blind’ to everything but its universal laws.” Hmmm. That’s also a curious proposition. “It,” again, the sort of force field personality idea, can see, but the only thing it can see are its universal laws. I wonder what those are? Shall we guess? I bet they are things like never having to say you are sorry, self-care, and you doing you. Well, nothing wrong with that. I think it’s lovely how everyone can “do you” individually. It makes a nice bright shiny delightful world where everyone lives harmoniously and rainbow clad bunnies hop along the great plain of good mental health and anxiety free living. I personally also love how this True Love can be so selective in its sight. I would like to get in on this amazing experience.

But let us carry on. This special love is now described with four modifiers. It is said to be Embracing, inviting, accepting, and exciting…Let us just reiterate, though, that the things it won’t be embracing, because it can’t see them, are your flaws, nor also anything that falls outside of its universal laws. So if you find yourself a very flawed and troubled person, so bound up, in fact, in “flaws,” and perhaps even ugliness, this love won’t be embracing that part of you. You need to sort out take that bit out and put it somewhere so that when caught in love’s embrace, you won’t sort of get tangled up with embarrassment or rejection. I do love how Love continues to not be, what’s that called? a person. It’s still this disembodied sort of idea or force that nevertheless can do things. That’s so great. And also inviting. So that’s nice. And accepting. As long as, remember, you’re within its universal laws, which were established by twitter a few minutes ago, and include adherence to certain political and religious views. So that’s alright. Plus, bonus, it’s also exciting. I mean, I personally find nothing more exciting than scrolling through Twitter and learning about love and stuff. And then being embraced by it. It’s my absolute favorite.

Now we come to the clincher, the denouement, the clever insight you have literally never thought of before, and neither have I. Ready? “…LOVE is who YOU are.” Oh wow. I did not see that coming.

So, let’s just put this together. True love sees no flaws and is blind to everything but its universal laws (I don’t know if you noticed this, but “laws” and “flaws” rhyme), and it’s embracing and exciting and stuff, and, get this, it’s actually You. It’s not a disembodied force field! How wrong I was! You are true love. That’s who you are.

And that’s really great for you because it means you can actually be God. So, congratulations! Because, as you know, in other places, like not on Twitter, God claims for himself the word Love. Like, he is so self-identified with it that it says in that weird old book, God is Love. But not a blind love, a love that sees no flaws and is blind to everything but its universal laws (man, I cannot get over how deep that is) but actually sees the flawed wretchedness of individual people and, by standing in the place of those people and dying, is able to offer the kind of forgiveness that heals and restores, rather than pretending that nothing is wrong.

But if you don’t feel like putting yourself in the hands of this God who is big enough to cope with who you actually are and all the failures and anxieties and sins of your life, and bear you up himself both in this life and in the next, and you want to be Love, I’d say, you do you. But then, after a while, if you find it’s too big and too hard, you could maybe come creeping back and admit that maybe it would be a little bit nicer and better to be embraced by someone who doesn’t lie, and who laid aside everything that he was not so that you could do you, but so that you could be bound irrevocably to him.

#WednesdayWisdom