Love, Reign O'er Me

So we're supposed to boldly Love everyone around us, right? God showed us His love by sending His Son to die, and continues to show His Love through the Spirit, through the countless wonders and blessings He shows us every single day, and - most important to us - through His people. I say it's the most important to us because we are the Body of Christ, the living manifestation of God's Will on this earth. So let's live up to it!

Love that YOU are showing the world, if you bear the name Christian, is the Love of Christ in the world today. When YOU are kind, gracious and patient with the kid at the cash register (no matter how many times you have to say "A number two with Coke, add cheese"), Jesus Christ is being kind, gracious and patient. When YOU go out of your way to help someone in need, the Son of Man is going out of His way to help someone. When YOU take the Love that the Author and Finisher of our faith has shown you and give it to the rest of the world, you have fulfilled not only your purpose, but also the very purpose of Christ Himself. In showing Love, you take on the likeness of Christ, and so show Him to the entire world.

And in that, most beloved reader, you will find a wholly powerful salvation, transformation, and redefinition of your soul, of your heart, of your mind... of everything that makes you who you are.

We are imperfect creatures, born into an imperfect world. In our walk towards God, sometimes we stumble. Sometimes we stumble hard. Sometimes we stumble hard over the same thing, several times. And when that happens enough, sometimes we get to a place where we don't think it's ever possible for us to get past that thing, over that thing, or around that thing without stumbling.

Sometimes we get so caught up in the failures of the past that we begin to think that those failures define us. We start to think that our sins are bigger than we are. We start to think that our sins are who we are.

We start to think that God will forgive a lot... but He won't forgive me. I've just sinned too much.

We start to think that God loves everyone... but surely He's had just about enough out of me. I commit the same sin over and over.

We start to think that even though God created the entirety of existence, stands completely outside of time itself, and is aware of the flight of every sparrow and the blooming of every flower... even though He's God... He can't change me. I'm just too broken for God to use.

I gotta admit... I used to think that way. I used to be trapped in my arrogant, cynical, negative, cruelly sarcastic and downright mean self, convinced that the jerk that I was was the jerk I would always be. I put on the happy face (occasionally) and suppressed my inner butt-head (on a good day) and struggled through acting the part of the nice Christian boy.

But then I found out what it was like to really Love someone. I found that really showing someone Love - even if it isn't returned the way I want it to be - makes me enjoy my life more. I realized - through no wisdom of my own, but rather through the education that came from painful experience - that when I finally made Love an active part of my life, everything worked better. Now, that doesn't mean everything worked out the way I wanted it to, and it doesn't mean that I was (or am) always consistent in showing that Love across the board to everyone I came in contact with. Yeah, I still mess up. Yeah, I still have instances of being a sheer, unmitigated... ummm... I'm having a really hard time coming up with an accurate description here that isn't profanity, but I think you get the idea.

But the thing is - it's not who I am anymore. It's not what defines me. It's not what I have to base my life around - I have been set free. Through the Grace and Love of Jesus Christ, who reconciled me to His Almighty Father through the power of the Holy Spirit, I have been transformed into a new man.

And I'm not the only one.

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

- Galatians 2:20 (emphasis added)

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. In Him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with Him in baptism and raised with Him through your faith in the power of God, who raised Him from the dead.

- Colossians 2:6-12 (emphases added)

For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that One died for all, and therefore all died. And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again.

So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

- II Corinthians 5:14-19 (emphasis added)

Martha said, "Master, if you'd been here, my brother wouldn't have died. Even now, I know that whatever you ask God he will give you."

Jesus said, "Your brother will be raised up."

Martha replied, "I know that he will be raised up in the resurrection at the end of time."

"You don't have to wait for the End. I am, right now, Resurrection and Life. The one who believes in me, even though he or she dies, will live. And everyone who lives believing in me does not ultimately die at all. Do you believe this?"

"Yes, Master. All along I have believed that you are the Messiah, the Son of God who comes into the world."

- John 11:21-27, The Message (emphasis added)

In my personal reading the other day, I tore through the first 12 chapters of John's Gospel from The Message. John 11 is mostly the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. I already knew that story, and knew it well. Or, at least, I knew what happened. I've heard the story from the pulpit, I've read it in the Bible, I've seen it re-enacted on feltboards... Got the gist!

And maybe it was just the way my day had gone, or maybe it was the way my whole life had gone up to that point, but when I started reading chapter 11, I was getting pretty choked up. When I got to verses 25 and 26 (the ones in bold), I was literally wiping away tears and holding back sobs.

The true power of the message of John 11 isn't just that Jesus holds mastery over the physical life and death, it is that He has the power to give you Life right now.

People, I'm not telling you anything I've come to on my own, I'm not making any of this up, and I'm not bringing you any sort of exclusive vision of wisdom.

I'm just telling you the Truth.

The power of the Love of Jesus Christ is not confined merely to the forgiveness of your sins. The Love of Christ frees you from your sins!

They're GONE!

ALL OF THEM!

FOREVER!

He does not treat us as our sins deserve

or repay us according to our iniquities.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

so great is His love for those who fear Him;

as far as the East is from the West,

so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

- Psalm 103:10-12

You will again have compassion on us;

you will tread our sins underfoot

and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.

- Micah 7:19

I, even I, Am He who blots out

your transgressions, for My own sake,

and remembers your sins no more.

- Isaiah 43:25

For I will forgive their wickedness

and will remember their sins no more.

- Hebrews 8:12, quoting Jeremiah 31:34

So if God isn't holding your sins against you... If God - the one whom you sinned against! - has moved past your sins... If God - the very definition of the righteousness we are aiming for - isn't letting your sin define you... Who in the world are you to argue with that?

I could have stayed focused on my definition of myself as a self-centered jerk. But instead, I let Jesus Christ teach me what life is like when I die to myself and live in Him.

And I'm telling you... if a thick-skulled clod like me can do it... so can you.

You can let go of your past.

You can ignore what the world says makes you who you are, and you can embrace what God says makes you who you are.

You can stop viewing yourself through the lens of your failures, your shortcomings, your sins, your struggles... and you can start seeing yourself in the light of GRACE! In the light of TRUTH! In the light of LOVE!

You can stop living your life as a sinner and start living your life as a saint - BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT YOU ARE!

Jesus doesn't just offer you the gift of eternal life later... He's offering you a HOLY life NOW! He can change you! He wants to change you! He wants to show you how to Love others like He Loves you! He wants to show you how to Love God like He Loves God! He wants to step into your heart and tear down your pride, tear down your fear, tear down your insistence that your sin is beyond His reach, that your life is outside of His care, that your future is not part of His plan.

I wish I could be with you (yes, YOU) right now. I wish I could be there with you as you read this. I wish I could be there, because I figure you're probably going to have one of three reactions.

Reaction #1 - You're going to smile and thank God that you've been redeemed, looking back on your past life before Christ transformed you, and you're going to want to shout it from the mountaintops that God is still working wonders in this world today. And I want to be there because I want to shout with you.

- or -

Reaction #2 - You're going to feel a rush of emotions - guilt, joy, pain, happiness, sadness, excitement - all coming together at once as you start to realize that what I'm telling you is true, that God really has forgiven you, that He is just waiting to show you a completely new life in Him, that even you can escape the gravity of your sins - no matter how terrible and dark you think they are! - to live a better life, and that realization is probably gonna make you cry. I know it made me cry, and I want to be there because I want to cry with you.

- or -

Reaction #3 - You're going to feel a twinge of hope, and you're going to think that maybe - juuuuuuuuuuust maybe - I'm talking to you, and that maybe God really will forgive all of your sins, and that you really can have a life that isn't defined by your past... but then Satan whispers in your ear, and tells you that your sins are too big, too many, too frequent, too deep-rooted into who you are, and you're tempted to give up. And I want to be there because I want to grab you by the shoulders and shake you until your nose bleeds, screaming the whole time, "HEY, DUMMY! JESUS DIED FOR YOU! GOD LOVES YOU!" (I fully realize this might not be the most effective method of evangelism, but seriously - you need to get this. It is important, and there will be a quiz at the end.)

I'm a big fan of #1. I'm an even bigger fan of #2. I do not much care for #3.

For those of you experiencing "Reaction #2" - trust me, it only gets better. God is going to show you something pretty amazing. Just keep your eyes open and firmly fixed on Him.

And for those of you who fall into "Reaction #1" category... I have a huge favor to ask of you. In the comment form below this post, if you would please, leave your story. Tell the world what God has done for you. Share what He has worked in you that others might know that He can still work in them.

I say this because it is true, and it is true only because God changed me: I love you.

Bold As Love (Just Ask the Axis)

So there's this gas station a few miles from my house, out in Fairview, on Highway 100. It's just a little country store gas station, one of the few that's open 24 hours in this neck of the woods, and it's got a sign out front that normally displays people's birthdays or anniversaries, or some prayer request for a family touched by grief, or some other little personal message. The last time I drove by, it was showing one of those personal messages, and here's the message:

ID LOVE 2

GO WITH

U

SASHA

Now, I don't have any idea who put this up, what he'd love to go to with Sasha, or who Sasha is, but I sure hope she liked it. I hope she melted into a puddle of goo. I hope she had to park on the side of the road, take a picture, upload it to Facebook, and then wipe the tears from her eyes while calling her best friend just to say "Oh, he's just so sweeeeeeeeeeeeet!"

But I'll admit it: even though I'm a die-hard romantic, I can understand that it might not have gone quite the way I hope it did - or quite the way the guy who put it up had hoped it would!

It's entirely possible that Sasha saw this guy's bold declaration and was embarrassed by it. Maybe she was embarrassed that the whole town of Fairview saw it. Maybe she was embarrassed by the fact that it was on the sign at the gas station. Or maybe this guy who put up the sign is just completely nuts and she was embarrassed by having this weirdo publicly longing for her.

But in either case... Good for him. Good for that guy having the guts to put something like that out there in public for everyone to see. It thrills me - as a romantic and as a Christian - to see that there's still at least one dude out there who's not afraid to show love in a public way - boldly, even.

Love is tricky stuff. For those of you who know me, whether it's personally or just through this blog, you'll recall that I'm not exactly lucky when it comes to romantic love. (I'll fully grant the possibility that I'm not "lucky" in romantic love for the same reason I'm not "lucky" in Calculus - I could very simply just have no idea what I'm doing.)

But despite my failures and/or shortcomings as dating material, I think I'm starting to figure out some stuff about the Love that is all you need, which is - in fact - everywhere.

One of the things I've learned - I think - is that there is a certain boldness required in Love. A lot of times we see in TV shows (like House the other night) or movies where there's a guy completely lovestruck, but he's too afraid for whatever reason to confess his love for this girl who is just aching for him to say something, this girl who would love to be in love with this guy, but she won't say anything about it, either.

Now, I think it's fairly safe to say that I'm not taking any notes from TV in that area. Girls that I'm fond of tend to find it out. Sometimes it has worked for me. I basically made a bet with my ex-girlfriend Michelle that us dating would be a great idea. And it was, for a few months! But other times it just winds up being the elephant in the room, you know? There's a genuine friendship connection built up, and then "Oh, hey, here's a... ummm... poem. For you. That I wrote. Because apparently I do that?" But since we're already good friends... Yeah, it's a thing. (That one doesn't have a good track record so far.)

But the point is not that I share my dating woes with you (but I do hope you're laughing at them), the point is this boldness in Love thing. It might not be the greatest approach when it comes to romance, but I believe that when we're talking about the Love we should have for everybody, there's really no other choice.

In the first few verses of John 5, Jesus heals a paralytic at the pool. One of the things that I find interesting about this healing in particular is that Jesus just up and does it. In a lot of the other specific instances we have recorded of Jesus' healing miracles, He is asked to perform the healing, usually by the sick person, but occasionally by a family member of the sick. But in John 5, Jesus just walks up, sees a man, and goes out of His way to heal him.

In Luke 13, we see another instance of Jesus healing without being asked. This time, it's the story of the woman who was bent over and couldn't stand up straight - Jesus saw her, called her over to Him, and healed her.

So Love, right? Love means you go out of your way to make someone's life better. Love means you don't always have to wait until people ask - when you see something that you can do, you do it.

But even then, there's another miracle of Jesus that I really like. In Mark 10, Jesus and the disciples were leaving Jericho, and they come across a blind man named Bartimaeus. Bartimaeus calls out to Jesus, and when Jesus talks to Bartimaeus, the first thing He says to him - and this is in verse 51 - is "What do you want Me to do for you?"

This is the first time Jesus ever met Bartimaeus, and the first thing Jesus asks is how He can serve Bartimaeus - how He can show His Love.

So Jesus sets a pretty solid example for how we ought to Love people, especially when gifted with the miraculous powers of healing. Snag is, I don't have that one.

But thankfully, the book of Acts is absolutely stuffed with examples of the apostles and early church showing Love through their actions, boldly preaching Christ, and serving one another in Love.

But it seems to me that we've lost sight of something in the years since. It seems that we've lost some of the edge, some of the boldness that Jesus and the early church displayed.

Love is not self-seeking, according to I Corinthians 13:5. But I look around - and look at myself - and see a Love that is hindered, a Love that seems to be sleeping, and that's not OK.

We've let the world talk us into shutting up. We've let the world talk us into calming down. We've let our own fear of looking weird or being mocked or persecuted push us back into our own little comfort zones where we don't step out and really confront people with the Love that we have been shown from God.

I know that I'm guilty of it, at least. I know that I am paralyzed by my own fear when it comes to showing Love for others. I'm weird enough as it is, there's no reason to go throwing fuel on the fire. I can't just go out of my way to be kind to strangers, can I? I can't make it a point in my life to improve the lives of those around me with every move I make, can I? I can't unashamedly speak the truth with every word, can I?

How would the world react to that?

Oh, yeah, that's right - they'd crucify me.

And I think that's part of why we've lost our edge on Love. I think that's part of why we're not being as bold as we should be. I think we've seen the world crucify one too many.

I think we've seen fellow Christians crucify one too many.

I think we've let sin and complacency and the love for "religion" rule our lives instead of the genuine Love for God, Love from God, and Love for His world. And I don't mean that to say that every one of you, any one of you, or really even myself, is guilty of some heinous sin where we've ignored God's commands to show Love. I think we're just holding back.

And I'd like to see that come to an end.

I'd like to see the body of Christ, His church, His people, His children, rise up in unity and in strength and say, "Hey! I'm gonna Love you, no matter what!"

And I'd like us to keep doing that even after the first shots are fired.

Because if there's any one thing that I've learned, it's that Love can be a tricky thing.

And sometimes even when you're showing Love to someone, they don't want it. Sometimes they can't see it as Love. Sometimes they do see it as Love, but still don't want any part of it, because Love is contagious, and Love means putting others before yourself. Love means sacrifice. Love means doing the hard things to help someone, even if they don't want it.

How do we show Love to someone who's crippled by a heroin addiction? How do we show that person Love when the very thing they want the most in this world - the thing that they in fact physiologically need - is also the very thing killing them?

How do we show Love to someone in an unhealthy relationship? How do we show them Love when their current idea of love is filled with manipulation and fear, jealousy and insecurity, or lies and pain?

How do we show Love to someone who is blatantly, knowingly defying the word of God in the pursuit of their happiness? How do we show them Love when their idea of love is one that allows complete moral freedom without any reproach? How many times have you heard this? "If God/Jesus/you really loved me, He/you would let me do what I want, because it makes me happy. That's what love means - making other people happy."

Say it with me everybody! No. That's not what Love means. Letting others do what they want isn't Love, it's apathy. Love means helping others be their best. Love means showing others how to care for themselves as well as those around them. Love means all of us working to make everyone's life better today than it was yesterday, and then making sure that tomorrow is even better than today.

And sometimes that Love means telling people things they don't want to hear.

As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.'"

"Teacher," he declared, "all these I have kept since I was a boy."

Jesus looked at him and Loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.

- Mark 10:17-22, emphasis added

What happened there? This young man, obviously enthusiastic about meeting Jesus, obviously enthusiastic about seeking holiness, obviously enthusiastic about knowing the heart of God... This young man comes up to Jesus and says "I want to do it right." Jesus checks him and finds him to be a righteous young man - except for one thing. And then, in the perfect Love of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, He tells the young man the last thing he wanted to hear. Jesus - in perfect Love - wrecked this guy's world. Jesus - the embodiment of Love - said something that made this guy sad! Jesus - who Loved us enough to die for us, even while we were still sinners! - showed this man Love, and in Love, told him the truth, even though the truth hurt.

So I don't know about you, but I've got some adjusting to do. I've got some learning to do. I've got to figure out how to Love people better. I've got to figure out how to get up the guts to tell people what they need to hear - in grace, truth, and Love - instead of just letting them live their lives in sin, deception, and pain.

I've got to move past my fear of the world and embrace the spirit of courage that I have been given through the power of Christ's redemption into the Love of the Father.

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of Love and of self-discipline.

- II Timothy 1:7

Love others. Love all others. Love your family, Love your friends, Love your church, Love your co-workers, Love your enemies, Love everyone you come in contact with. Love them whether they're ready for it or not. Love them whether they LIKE it or not! Love every single person you come across in this world with the Love that has been shown to you, the Love that laid down His life for us, the Love that bled for us, the Love:

Who, being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

but made Himself nothing,

taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled Himself

and became obedient to death—

even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place

and gave Him the name that is above every name,

that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

- Philippians 2:6-11

God Loves you. YOU. You reading this right now. You, personally. YOU are His special child. YOU are His, forever. YOU have been bought for a high price. God loves YOU enough that He took on flesh and died for YOU.

And to the best of my limited abilities, I Love you, too. Yes, again - YOU. I Love YOU. Which is why I'm telling you to go out and Love others. Love them like you mean it. Love them like your very soul depends on it - because it does! Love them the way that you have been shown, with the Father's Love, through the Love of the Son, in the Holy Spirit of Love.

Next week, I'll be writing about how Love can save you. So look forward to that. (Also, I wanted to throw in one more tune.)