Extremists...

I worked with a man of the Baha'i Faith when I was a computer technician, we had several good discussions over the years as we worked together. One day we were eating lunch and he told me he believed it to be dangerous to take any extreme position, even if that position is love. He said that people can sometimes love too much. He believed the key to peace in the world was to dull our passions and extreme positions, so we can all live side by side. I disagreed with him, but it got me thinking if it was possible to love too much?


A popular thought of the day seems to point toward a this sort of apathy. Instead of bringing change into the world we are called to be more tolerant, instead of living life to the full we are called simply to co-exist. It is an interesting thought to imagine that the world is calling us to strip ourselves of any kind of passion so we can live in peace. Recently I read Francis Chan's Crazy Love and he said something that resonated with me. 

You are a danger to the world if you love nothing, and you're even more dangerous when you love the wrong things. When there is a vacuum of love within your soul, hate, bitterness, envy, and racism rush to fill the empty space.

This idea of dulling my sense to love in order to be less extreme is opposite of the way we were created to live. Dr. Martin Luther King was named an extremist in his time, and at first it discouraged him, then after more thought it strengthened his resolve. He said:

“Was not Jesus an extremist for love — 'Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, pray for them that despitefully use you...Will we be extremists for hate or will we be extremists for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice — or will we be extremists for the cause of justice? In that dramatic scene on Calvary's hill, three men were crucified. We must not forget that all three were crucified for the same crime — the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immorality, and thusly fell below their environment. The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment.”

King goes on to suggest that the world needs more, "creative extremists for love." This idea of extremism is opposite of the way many think today. We find ourselves paralyzed with fear when we consider the second part of Chan's thought, "you're even more dangerous if you love the wrong things." My challenge to you is that pure love can never be wrong, follow it! Search for love and I believe you will find God. John tells us in 1 John 3:16, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters."


Don't give up on love, because "when you give up on love everything else seems to go with it - joy, hope, forgiveness, compassion - they're all interconnected." Erwin McManus