Release Date: January 21st, 2026Love is Not Enough - An Epiphany Devotional
- by Jon Osmond
I had an epiphany a few months back. And it’s been a gentle glow in my mind and heart since that time. This season of Epiphany seems like a fitting time to share it.
My epiphany was a serendipitous collision of sorts. Two books and a heartbreaking experience of a close friend, unveiled a spiritual truth that sent me on a journey of self-reflection and prayerful contemplation.
And yet that “love” wasn’t enough. After decades of incredible justice and compassion ministry, this thriving church imploded and dissolved.
Circle of Hope: A Reckoning with Love, Power, and Justice in an American Church, by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Eliza Griswold, is a jaw dropping, uncommonly raw chronicling of internal division in a thriving neo-Anabaptist church. Circle of Hope was a growing church in Pennsylvania that was doing the good work of peace, justice and compassion in marginalized communities. They were embodying Anabaptist values that demonstrated love in practical ways. And yet that “love” wasn’t enough. After decades of incredible justice and compassion ministry, this thriving church imploded and dissolved.
Coming right along side Circle of Hope came Richard Rohr’s latest book, The Tears of Things: Prophetic Wisdom for An Age of Outrage. The book is a beautifully rich overview of the prophets of the Old Testament. Rohr points past the “angry” prophets, to the underlying heart of biblical prophetic ministry — tears: a vulnerable agonizing for the brokenness in our world. Rohr used “love and humility” to describe what is needed for this kind of ministry.
Maybe closer attention and reflection on Paul’s full description of love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, can guide us into a love shaped by humility?
Thrown right into the middle of those two books was a breakfast I had with a good friend who was a ministry leader. They had just experienced one of the deepest betrayals of their life. A life-long mentor, who had become their employer, abruptly and angrily ended their employment. This mentor exuded a deep compassion and love for a particular group of marginalized people. Lots of love. But a lack of humility. “Love” isn’t enough.
This epiphany of love shaped and guided by humility, brought me to Epiphany: a revelation of Jesus Christ who embodied love (transformative bold acts of justice, reconciliation and compassion) with humility (vulnerability, interdependence and embracing limits).
At this point I want to name how someone in my social location (straight, White, middle-class, male) could use the challenge to be “humble” to silence or oppress many on the margins who need to speak up with boldness and strength. That’s not what I’m suggesting.
Maybe closer attention and reflection on Paul’s full description of love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, can guide us into a love shaped by humility? The love/humility epiphany creates in me a longing for deeper devotion to Jesus. The Jesus who is described as the model for humility in Philippians 2:3-11. Who demonstrated love by courageous self-giving while embracing the limits of his humanity. The Jesus who invites us all to come to him with our weariness to receive rest and to learn from his humility and gentleness (Matt. 11:28-30).
“Love” isn’t enough. So, may we continually be transformed by Christ’s love and humility in every personal interaction and every ministry project.
Questions for reflection:
- What practices help my personal vulnerability match my ministry ambition?
- In what ways am I learning humility from Jesus?
- What is the relationship between rest and humility? How does rest help you grow in a love shaped by humility?
- Jon Osmond is pastor at FreeChurch Toronto