Alabama humorist depicts love as ‘powerful,’ ‘devisive’ force

Love is the most powerful force on the planet … but also the most devisive force in the world,” said Christian humorist and cartoonist Joe McKeever.
   
Amid chuckles and roaring laughter as he presented the keynote address at the Jan. 9 Legislative Prayer Luncheon (see story, this page), McKeever, an Alabama native, debated the concept of love.
“Love motivated God to send Jesus into the world,” McKeever said. “Love is powerful, it’s controversial and so relevant.”
   
Recounting several tales about love, McKeever landed most intently on a conversation between a Mississippi farmer and himself.  What started out as small talk between two strangers ended up as a debate over racial issues.
   
“You know there’s nothing in the Bible against slavery, don’t you?” said the farmer to McKeever. “Give me one verse in all the Bible that says slavery is wrong”
   
McKeever amused the audience as he replayed his reaction to the question.
   
“Where exactly is there a Scripture that says slavery is wrong?” McKeever asked himself.
   
Then the farmer’s friend spoke up and said, “How about ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself?’”
   
“I said, ‘Great answer.’” And from that moment on McKeever realized the large number of situations that one Scripture from Leviticus 19 covers. “I had known that text and believed it and ignored it,” he said.
   
Jesus quotes that verse in Matthew 22 and Mark 12, McKeever pointed out. And in doing so, “He keeps us from restricting our faith from vertically [saying] it’s not just You and me, Jesus. We got our own thing going,” McKeever said. “The proof that we love the Lord is our love for our neighbor,” he said.
   
McKeever reminded the audience that biblically, love is not an emotion even though there is an emotion of love. “Love is an action, something you do,” he said. “When God tells us to love Him, our neighbor, our spouse and our children, He is saying we should do loving things for them.
   
“Jesus told us that we are to love our enemies,” he said. “That’s about as tough an assignment as you’ll ever get. Fortunately, He was not asking us to like our enemies.”
   
Noting that love is sometimes hard such as in disciplining a child or punishing a criminal, McKeever pointed out that “Jesus’ love for you and me sent Him to the cross to die for our sins.”
   
“Love is powerful, it’s controversial, and it may be the toughest thing you ever do,” McKeever said. “But it’s always the right thing.”