Love

Representing the love of Christ is one the hardest and best part of serving Jesus. It demands a putting away of the self service and self love that accompanies our humanity and picking up the risky habit of loving others before considering ourselves. I have been reading the book "Crazy Love," by Francis Chan. It is one of those wonderful, horrible, convicting but life changing kinds of books that I wish every believer would read. In it the author challenges the reader to take the love chapter, I Corinthians 13 and substitute our name for love. Example: Cyndi is patient and kind, Cyndi does not envy or boast; she is not arrogant or rude. Cyndi does not insist on her own way; she is not irritable or resentful; she does not rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth. Cyndi bears all things, she believes all things, she hopes all things, she endures all things..... You get it! I feel like such a liar when I read this, but Cyndi is supposed to represent this love of God. It is a high calling and an unnatural one for the natural man cannot work the righteousness of God. It needs to be hard to grasp and we need to be totally dependant on God to climb it. It is seeking His Kingdom before our own pleasure, it is loving humanity with all of its baggage and annoyances. It is the putting on of the character of God Himself and it is NOT optional. So often, as he did with the saints of old, he shows up in our lives, tells us to follow Him, gives us little or no direction, and says "trust me." It is a hard walk, this love and obedience of God. But it is a life of great reward, God has said, both in eternity and "in this life also." God calls us to take the risk of love, of following, of being His representative and pulling men out of darkness and onto the same road of joy that we walk. It is not easy but it is peaceful, it is full of joy. I would rather live my worst day with my Lord, then any other day without Him. He is good, full of mercy and peace and He has given us the body of Christ for encouragement and companionship along the way.