conditional love? NOOOO!

I talked about this on Sunday. It has my head spinning. There are phrases in the Bible like, 'faith hope and love, and the greatest of these is love.' Love love love love, it's like a Beatles song up in there. Or something.

Is love one of the most misunderstood emotions ever? Is it just an emotion? Is it more? Certainly it is more than just feeling something. It has to be a state of mind, a lifestyle, an action, more than just some little tingle in your soul. Right?

I don't believe a person can know true love until they have known Christ- and really known Him, like, hyper-intimately. For some people this will mean tragedy and pain and hurt- and they will come to Him so broken and bruised and beaten, that the only thing that keeps them from the ultimate end is that love. Not love, but Love. With a capital L. The only way to properly write the word if you are going to talk about it in the context of God, of Jesus.

So, this Love- what about it? We need it. We crave it, even if we don't know that we do. It is the only thing that can sustain us, sometimes.

But, this Love- what else? We must represent it. Jesus, His physical body, is up in heaven sitting w/ God, praying for you, for me, for that guy, and that guy over there, and everyone else, too. His Spirit, whom He sent down to us, to live within us, to power us up like spiritual batteries- He is here, and He is who will help us demonstrate, represent this Love. Capital L Love.

God's Love does not operate on conditions, because as the Word says, "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us..." We will never stop sinning- but we will want to. Once the Spirit grabs hold of us, He does the convicting. Not your fellow Christian. Not your pastor or your therapist. Our job, those of us who bear the name of Christ, who dare to call ourselves Christians- we must live this Love.

What does that mean for you? I can't tell you that. You have to decide for yourself. But think of this Love, how much God loves YOU, and all your hang-ups, internal sins, difficulties that have no definition...He Loves you. Like crazy. He wants you, He wants your life, He wants to fulfill you and make you part of His plan. You already are a part of His plan. And so is that guy, and that girl, and that dude over there...And He Loves them just as much. So, when you see that guy or that girl, wherever you see them, at whatever point in their life, in that moment, whether in sin or in obedience- God LOVES them. What is your job, then? To love them as well? I think so. I believe that. I want to live that. I cannot take care of the sin, that is for Christ alone. But the Love? That part? It has been commanded of us: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. And the second is like it, Love your neighbor as yourself. And a new command I give you, Love one another as I have Loved you...
This is by far the hardest thing we are called to do, because we are exposed to sin and hopelessness and degradation of all kinds- to love in the midst of that, well, Christ gave us a hefty example to live up to. But let's try, ay?

"Hey, Peter, do you love me?"
"Yes, of course I do!!!"
"Then Love them, my sheep. Love them. One more time, brother, do you love me?"
"Absolutely, Lord, I do!"
"You heard what I said then, Love them. Take care of my sheep. Love them."

As Francis Chan says, paraphrased, I believe God wants us to love others so much that we go to extremes (EXTREMES) to help them...

Amen.