Tonight I felt an overwhelming need to talk about what many of us do not fully understand, and fewer of us even know: the love of Jesus Christ. Now, before I begin I want to disclose that this is not just a vain attempt to try and pass myself off as a "true disciple", and that I know everything there is to know about the love of Jesus. Nor is this just an attempt to publicly flaunt my love for Christ so that you might, for some strange reason, think more highly of me. Let me just say that I am infantile when it comes to truly understanding the magnitude of the love of Christ, and that I am motivated tonight to share what revelation came to me. Jesus came into the world as a servant, when He could have chosen to come as a king. He washed his own disciple's feet, sat with sinners, and hung out with lepers and disease ridden people who were ostracized from the community. The truth behind the love of Christ, which awestruck me more than anything else, was...He didn't care. He didn't care who you were, what you've done, why you did it, who you did it with, when you did it. None of those things mattered to Him. He just loved without ceasing. Whether you were Jew or Gentile, it didn't matter to Him. What even struck me more was, He loved us before we were ever born. "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you..." it says in Jeremiah. He knew me, and who I would be, and what I would do...and yet He loved me anyways. So much so, that He chose to take to the cross and die for me. Now that's a love you can't touch. A love you cannot honestly say that you can begin to understand. Jesus knew exactly where He was going and what was going to happen when He got there, the whole while being beaten and taunted by those who worshiped Him. The very same people that called Him Lord, cried out: "Crucify Him!". Yet He stilled loved them. He loved the ones who murdered Him...and here I am holding a grudge against someone who was a little snooty with me today at work. Who am I to cast judgement and disdain to this person? We often times proclaim the excuse "I love people...but some people make it hard to love them". No, it's YOU who makes it hard to love them. Because if the love of Christ isn't in you, fully in you, then it will never be manifested to them. You can measure your love of God, by how much you love people. The ENTIRE book of the bible, the whole summary of the word of God is summed up in this one commandment: "Love God and love others". It doesn't say: "Love God, and love SOME". It calls for us to love everyone. Nothing mattered to Jesus. He didn't care... because He cared. Forgiving those who wronged you in the past is one of the biggest barriers we set ourselves up to not love other people. Reflecting on what Jesus did on the cross for everyone, even those who murdered Him, helps me realize that Jesus didn't die JUST for me, but everyone. The fact of the matter is I let my ego get in the way of God's will and command for my life. There is a song by Downhere that sums it up pretty well:
How many kings step down from their thrones?
How many lords have abandoned their homes?
How many greats have become least for me?
And how many gods have poured out their hearts,
to romance a world that's torn all apart?
How many fathers gave up their sons for me?
I can't let who I am get in the way of who God wants me to be, and I can't let my ego or selfishness hinder my love for other people, when there is a God in heaven who in enthralled with me and every other person on this planet that He made. A pastor and good friend of mine once told me "If people can't see Christ in or through you, then you're doing it wrong". I still have much to learn about the love of God, but the ultimate example of love is sacrifice. Love is giving, yet desires nothing in return. Glory to God's murdered Son, who paid for my crimes and opened up the gates of Heaven, so that I may not live in eternal darkness from my Creator. I hope that each day that goes by, God would grab hold of my heart and show me what it truly means to love as Christ did: without conditions or requirements. I may never be able to love in the same capacity as Jesus did, but I'm going to get as close as God will possibly allow me to.
