A few weeks ago, I had the incredible joy of being in Corinth, Greece. I was leading a group that was following in the footsteps of the Apostle Paul. Corinth was the location where Paul met Priscilla and Aquilla, fellow tentmakers. He was accosted by several in the city who wanted him to leave. But, Paul continued on in his ministry. Later he would write the famous words in his letter to the Corinthians:
“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect; but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood. So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
Part of the time I was in Corinth I wore a very special t-shirt from the Love Like Crazy Foundation. I thought it fitting to wear a t-shirt that encouraged love in the place where Paul reminded the people about the importance of love.
The Love Like Crazy Foundation was started by Ben and Aimee Hanneman following the death of their son, Bennett. Bennett was almost three years old when he passed away from the complications of a very rare disease, Pearson’s Syndrome. The Love Like Crazy Foundation was born out of a sense of gratitude for the kindness that was shown to the Hanneman family during the darkest of times. The foundation was created to help others show love to other families dealing with devastating diagnoses, to advocate for research, and to honor the legacy of a little boy who created unbelievable good will and joy in his short life.
The Hannemans were faced with the ugly cruelties of a rare disease. But, like Paul who faced harsh abuse, they would not let the injustices of the world stop them from proclaiming a message of love.
Love never ends – so love like crazy while you have life to live!
#lovelikecrazy #rememberbennett lovelikecrazyfoundation.org
