John mentions perfect love in 1 John 4:18 in a way that seems to indicate – taken along with the rest of his writings – that he had first hand experience of it.  I’m not sure I have now because I experienced a level of love I have never had before both mentally and emotionally last night and it has left me realising that I have a lot more to know.

It wasn’t a mushy thing nor a cold, crucified kind of love.  It reminded me more of the kind of love that Paul talks about in Ephesians 3:17 – a rooted and grounded kind of love.  Like all God things ultimately it is a revelation.  It sounds simple when you describe it but the experience is profound, moving and revealing all at once.

I fancy myself as a bit of a mystic.  My mind is on heavenly things a lot.  The truth is that it is probably on earthy things more often but, as I said, I like to think in mystic ways.  I’m partial to Akiane Kramarik’s way of thinking about things and I would have a lot of time for the ideas explored in the various Star Trek series and movies.  Thankfully as someone impacted by Jesus in an experiential and life changing way I don’t have time to explore that kind of mysticism much.  As Paul says (in 1 Corinthians 8: 5) there are many gods and many lords and they are all more powerful than me without Christ – or at least most of them are I guess.  I’m better off ensuring I know the Lord of lords and God of gods first and it will take me a lifetime to do that.

But that kind of mystical tendency has left me floating a few inches above the ground most of the time I think.  Or at least that is what it seemed like when God showed me His love for me in a fresh new way last night.  Being rooted and grounded in love is to be totally in touch with the here and now.  God showed me last night that in the here and now He has done nothing but protect, love and esteem me for the last 35 years.  It is just in my imaginations that I have been fearful, imagining what suffering together with Christ might mean.

He doesn’t want me to suffer, period.