This is Love

You’ve probably seen this picture over the past few weeks.  If you haven’t, this is a picture of Egyptian Christians protecting Egyptian Muslims while they pray as the protests were going on in Egypt.

Mark 12:30-31

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.

These are verses that you know and you’ve heard a thousand times, but the question is do we practice them? You might say ‘Absolutely Philip! I love God with all my heart!’ But do you follow up with the second half of that passage?  Do you love your Muslim neighbor, your homosexual co-worker, the doctor at the abortion clinic, the atheist who works at your local Starbucks, the people who moved illegally into the country, the person who talked behind your back?  If your answer is no, then you are not loving God to the fullest extent. Jesus didn’t say ‘only love your neighbor if…they are living like you’. No He says ‘love them as yourself’. The first half of this passage hinges on the second half.

How about a heart check moment? How can we expect to show God how much we love Him and spread His gospel when we can’t love our neighbor because what they are doing is detestable in OUR eyes? See, God loves that person no matter what they are doing just the same as He loves you. The only difference is that they might not know it yet. I’m not telling you to condone the sin, not at all, but I’m telling you in order to reach a person for Christ you are never going to do it through hate, anger, or turning your back to someone. We must love the person (with a Christ-like love) regardless of the way we picture their lifestyle, and trust God to make the changes in their heart that need to be made.

I look at the picture above and I am moved by the love that is being shown. It makes me take a good look at my heart and say where is my love for people? I want to be able to love and worship God to the fullest extent. I want to come before the throne of God with a clean and pure heart. In order for me to be able to do that I must increase in my love for others.

As a worship leader, I’ve been asking the Lord to increase my love for others; Let me be moved with compassion just like Jesus was. When we act on the full passage above (Mark 12:30-31) we will enter into deeper realms of worship than we can possibly imagine. I don’t know about you, but I want more of Him.

Let’s God Deeper!

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