Come and Listen

This post is inspired by what the Lord has really been pressing in my Spirit lately as I've been seeking Him. As you recently read, I sought out God in my mental battle and he revealed himself in a Love I've never felt before. Therefore, it became my goal to obtain a better understanding of this love and what do I get? A lesson in humbleness. I've never been happier to not be in control. Just like before, now I see a significant correlation between these two subjects than I originally assumed.

Many people have a desire to love God, but are not sure how to express it. It is a dumbfounding thought: how do we, a sinful natured humanity, show love for the perfect creator of the entire universe? Let the Holy Spirit tell you very simply. Straight from the Word.

Matthew 25:31-33; 41- 43

31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. . . 41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

Imagine the Lord saying this right in front of you... I'm sure you're thinking the exact same thing as I am, "Whoa, whoa, whoa God. First off, I never saw you hurt, thirsty, or naked. So this must not apply to me." Wrong. Read on.

Matthew 25:44-45

44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' 45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

Clear as mud, right? It couldn't be more obvious. If you want to express your love for God, express it through loving his image bearing children. Yes, even the ones who aren't defined as 'cool' in our twisted modern culture. When I get to heaven, I plan to throw myself down at Jesus' feet. Right in front of the gates and every heavenly host there is. Before I go talk to the one who had a 'heart after God's own', King David, I will just lay down in front of Jesus and worship. If the power of his love can be so overpowering here on earth, can you imagine the feeling of standing eye to eye to the one who gave his entire life just to have this single moment with you? I think we all agree. I can't imagine Jesus bending down to touch my shoulder to tell me to move to the 'left' after reciting verse 45 to me. It's easy to picture us bowing down before Jesus in Heaven, but we have to realize we are commanded to bow down every day on earth. To do so, it requires a humble loving of all creation, especially when we don't necessarily want to.

Picture it this way. We are first commanded to love God with all our hearts, souls, and minds. Our second commandment is to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. If God's image is in every single one of us, are we not fundamentally accomplishing both of these commandments at once by humbly loving others? You are expressing God's love into another's life, while at the same time expressing to God your desire for Him. It fits together perfectly.

Our lives are too short to live for ourselves. We often think that life is about "me, me, me". What car do I want to drive? What beautiful girl do I want to marry? What house do I want to live in? It goes on and on. Please see that our life here on earth is just a quick breath in God's eyes. In the broad scope of things, essentially all we are is that "one guy" who is an extra, walking in the back ground of the newest movie you went to see last weekend (Crazy Love). That's all. Our life is simply too short to NOT point the glory back to the main character of this "film". My dad taught me that life seems to go by more quickly as we age because the past 12 months we just lived makes up a smaller percentage of our lives. When you're 4 years old turning 5, your past year seemed to last forever because it was 20% of your entire life. When you're 49 years old turning 50, the past year went by so quickly because those 12 months were only 2% of your life. Now picture this movie in God's eyes. My friends, we are only 0.0000000000001% of this movie. There is not enough time to live for yourself. We're called to live in sacrifice and love.

I hope you'll grasp what God has been running through my simple mind over the last week. I've really made great strides in understanding this, but I got hit hard by God last Tuesday night during worship at Overflow. Sometimes God can be similar to how our school system works. He'll teach us things and show us things, but he'll also test us to see where we stand. He wants to know if we're "good" soil or "bad" soil. While the band played the song in the video above, I contemplated all these gut wrenching commands. The Lord nailed me with a single question that took my breath away. He said, "Son, if you truly love me in complete humbleness, are you willing to give up your entire life for a single soul, who you might not even know, to be saved"? Wow. For one person. But Lord, I've invested so much into my school work to just give it all up. I've worked so many hours to save up money. I've spent countless hours in the gym to succeed in my sport. Listen, this is the ultimatum. This movie is not about us. When people look at me, I desire to reflect back to the One who gives us meaning. That is my dream. And if this means to give up all my investments on earth for one soul to be eternally saved then, "Yes Father". This is my humble, honest answer. What will it be for you? Life about you or life about Him? You decide.