Diving in Deep

Love Others

— Jesus.

This past Sunday, as we celebrated music and the life and unity and emotion it brings to our lives, I had a thought.

A lot of the songs we sing in church talk about God’s love for us. These lyrics to Reckless Love by Cory Asbury are so beautiful:

” Before I spoke a word, You were singing over me
You have been so, so good to me
Before I took a breath, You breathed Your life in me
You have been so, so kind to me

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God
Oh, it chases me down, fights ’til I’m found, leaves the ninety-nine
I couldn’t earn it, and I don’t deserve it, still, You give Yourself away
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God

When I was Your foe, still Your love fought for me
You have been so, so good to me
When I felt no worth, You paid it all for me
You have been so, so kind to me

There’s no shadow You won’t light up
Mountain You won’t climb up
Coming after me
There’s no wall You won’t kick down
Lie You won’t tear down
Coming after me “

These are beautiful, true, and wonderful words. But the whole time we were singing, I was crying. I KNOW God loves me this much; I know it deep in my bones. I know God would do anything for me to live the life God has envisioned for me, to live in a relationship with God, my Creator. I was crying because I know that God also loves the children currently caged up at the border this much. God loves the Hispanic people were shot in Walmart this past weekend for the offense of being brown this much. I know that God loves the approx 128 Black, Transgender women that have been murdered in the US since 2013 this much. And, most difficult of all, I know God also somehow loves the ones holding the guns just as much.

I think God’s biggest miracle is God’s ability to keep loving humanity, even when we break God’s heart every day. I believe that God grieves with us when these things happen. God has a much better, more expansive, more inclusive, more joyful and loving vision for humanity than the life we are currently living.

It’s good for us to know, individually, that God loves us. That’s necessary and important, and a lot of people have a hard time truly believing that for a variety of ugly reasons. It is true though: God, the Creator of the Universe, loves YOU. It is also true that God, the Creator of the Universe, loves everyone you can’t stand.

If we can start looking at EVERYONE through God’s eyes, and seeing each person as a beloved (however lost and hurting) child of God, then maybe, just maybe, we can all be a little kinder, a little more patient, a little more forgiving and slow to anger, a little more loving. We don’t have to like people to love them. Or agree with them. Or
support their lifestyle. However, it is our sacred duty and calling, if you identify as Christian, to love. It is the #1 commandment, the entire Bible as summed up by Jesus:

“‘So love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.’ And here is the second: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ There is no other commandment that ranks with these.”

There is enough love to go around. It is an unlimited resource. And the more we practice and extend love, the more it actually grows and comes back to us exponentially. Christians, let us rest deeply in the knowledge of our worth and value in Christ, that just as we are, we are DEEPLY and PROFOUNDLY seen and known and loved. And let us then MOVE ON and spread that love around extravagantly and joyous and unconditionally.