What's on Your Banner? A Call to Be the Love

My church, my sweet little church, we are studying the word together this Fall through an amazing life changing study called Experiencing God.  Ya'll it's a doosey.  It's a turn you upside, hang you by your toe nails kind of study.  It has called me into great joy, praise and reflection today as I was reminded of how much God LOVES me.  Let's all strike the chord and sing the tune "Yes, Jesus loves me, Yes Jesus loves..." I mean we know the words right? We throw the word love around like it's yesterday's newspaper.  "What this old thing"  is the attitude of the use of the word love.  "I love that dress" "I love Justin Timberlake"  "I love my new chair" and so on and so on until the word just doesn't mean anything anymore.

I remember the first time my husband told me he loved me.  We were driving, just down a random road and randomly he said I love you.   No man outside my family, had ever said that to me.  It is a most cherished moment in my life.  I have let it be known that I am proud to be a boy mom.  When my boys each said I love you momma the first time and even today, I mean seriously, it just takes my breath away.  I have a fierce group of women who stand by me, beside me, in front of me. They love me spite my crazy self and when they hug me and say I love you friend, don't you know they meant it with every fiber of their being!

NEWSFLASH! God loves you like this. Yes you.  Even if you hate him, even if you spew hatred about him, he LOVES you.  He chooses you, he calls you to him. (Jeremiah 31:3)  No matter what you've done.  NO MATTER WHAT YOU'VE DONE!   Wake up friends!  It's not about you, or me or that other guy.  It's about him.  His LOVE, his sacrifice, eternity with him, his choice. He chooses you, you need only bow your knee today to his prompting.

If you already know this LOVE (agape) of God, if you already have the grace from the cross can I ask you what you are doing about it today?  Are you being a banner of LOVE today, were you a banner of LOVE yesterday?  That world out there, they hate us. You know why they hate us, because we don't LOVE them like we should.  We huddle over here in our sweet little churches and spew hatred right back at them.  We judge them, we talk out of both sides of our mouths, we only feed them and clothe them between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  We only LOVE them when they first LOVE us.  Believers, this has to stop, if we believe in the first and greatest commandment (Matthew 22:37-38) then lets act that out.  If we LOVE God the way we say we do, then what's written on our banners? We need some more Hosea in our life.  That book is truth telling of who we are, who God is and who we should be.  Let's read it, study it, act it out.

In Hosea 11:4 it says: "I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love; I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them."

Let us lead with cords of human kindness as believers.  Let us step where God has already gone with us.  Know his LOVE (agape) then show his LOVE today and everyday after.  It is so good in his arms, don't we just want everyone to experience that?
I hope you know this is self-preaching, there is no perfection in my words. I am reminding myself today to do these things, to remember God LOVES me and my neighbor spite ourselves. That he has called me in and then whispered to me to go LOVE the people.  Because we are FEARFULLY and WONDERFULLY MADE is his loving image.

Go be the LOVE, for the LOVE.

Much Love,
Chrystan