.: an absense of the essence :.

The Son of God came that we might be set free - not so we might be forced into another manner of oppression. Yet there is a wisdom without love that exists within so many of us. There is a wisdom without love that has cost us more than we may ever know. There is a wisdom without love that causes some to see themselves as kings, when all the while they are paupers. There is a wisdom without love that draws clear lines according to traditions and comfort. There is a wisdom without love that allows us to think that we are justified in doing so. There is a wisdom without love that has prepared us for self-destruction. There is a wisdom without love that fashions our words with sharp edges. There is a wisdom without love that prompts actions that bear diminishing results. There is a wisdom without love that clothes us with a vanity that everyone but us can so clearly see. There is a wisdom without love that divides our beliefs from authentic life. There is a wisdom without love that teaches us to shelter ambitions that are centered only in ourselves. There is a wisdom without love that uses theology to bring people into line rather than set them free. There is a wisdom without love that raises the concept of knowledge above that of relationships. There is a wisdom without love that drains all sense of passion out of genuine love. There is a wisdom without love that renders faith a heartless function. There is a wisdom without love that lives according to regulations. There is a wisdom without love that prides itself on maintaining every last rule. There is a wisdom without love that works every angle to advance its occupant. There is a wisdom without love that puffs itself up and struts amongst those whom threaten it the most. There is a wisdom without love that tears apart close fellowship. There is a wisdom without love that cares more for being right than for speaking to another heart. There is a wisdom without love that thrives upon rumor and reputation rather than character and purity. There is a wisdom without love that throws caution to the wind. There is a wisdom without love that rolls over others on its way to fulfilling its agenda. There is a wisdom without love that intends to rule over others. There is a wisdom without love that sees submission as weakness. There is a wisdom without love that exposes all faults but the ones that lay within the exposer. There is a wisdom without love that prides itself upon the wounds that it provokes. There is a wisdom without love that is determined to dominate its neighbor. There is a wisdom without love that uses any and every advantage that it holds over another. There is a wisdom without love that uses thoughts and opinions as a form of judgment and power. There is a wisdom without love that hides itself behind religious jargon. There is a wisdom without love that foolishly thinks one's context to be everyone else's. There is a wisdom without love that is deeply biased. There is a wisdom without love that preaches only the policies that it sees as fit. There is a wisdom without love that refuses to see or move beyond oneself. There is a wisdom without love that crushes out all sense of life, joy, and freedom within others that Christ intended to inhabit our lives. For the souls who pride themselves on having it all right and all together are so often the very ones who have missed the essence of the gospel of grace.