His Passion... Our Passion?

Watched the movie The Passion of the Christ tonight… man. Go watch if it you haven't. And if you have, watch it again. It's a great reminder. Yeah, it's gruesome but it always gets me crying because to me it's such a stark, strong picture of His love. A love so incredible it is willing to take all kinds of pain… for me. And for you.

When I watch the scourging scene in The Passion… and see that precious blood flying everywhere… and remember that that blood was shed for me, but also for you, and for the couple next door, and the homeless stranger, and the druggie up the road, and the raving atheist at the local college, and that jerk we all know, and the gal with a dozen piercings, and that guy who lives on Pennsylvania Ave, and the dictator thousands and thousands of miles away… it makes me think. 

It makes me think… how can I belittle or mock the people of whom Christ thought so highly? How can I say someone's not as worthy as someone else because maybe they're not as smart, or maybe they're not as knowledgeable or maybe they've got some struggle most people don't have? How can I ignore or be mean to them? How can I shun any of them? How can I NOT treat every human with graciousness, love and respect, regardless of how they treat me or how different they might be?

Guys--our Savior's blood was spilled for these people. They're the reason He died! If we don't strive to treat others with kindness and love the way He treated them, we're not only not obeying Him, we are in essence spitting on His sacrifice! Yeah, love is tough. Yeah, some of us aren't "good" at being loving or kind. Yeah, some of us have been hurt deeply and would like nothing more than to run away from this world (guilty!). None of us want to die to ourselves for the sake of someone else. But if any of those excuses change the fact that we're spitting on Christ's sacrifice when we don't love… I'd like to know. X)

My favorite part about the way The Passion portrays Jesus is His eyes when he looks at the ones who are betraying Him, mocking Him, beating Him, killing Him. His eyes are piercing with Truth… but they are also so gentle, so overwhelming with their love and compassion. If we are His children and He is in us… why doesn't the world see that in our eyes? We can preach to thousands of people, we can start great ministries, we can use so many gifts, we can have every theological problem solved, we can raise huge godly families… but if we have not Christ's love for others… we are only a resounding gong, a clanging symbol, we are nothing, we gain nothing.

We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). Christ's love compels us (2 Corinthians 5:14). I think we need to all be on our knees, begging Him to teach us His love… begging Him to help us understand the depths of His love for us. Because it is out of a deep understanding of that love that we will go forward in victory and make a difference in this dying, broken world. Truth is powerful, yes, but without a very real, very strong, very active, very visible love… it won't have the power to change the world. But the true, incredible love of Christ can.

So, do we love Him enough to take that love to the world He died for?

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How can I speak of Your love?
How can I sing of its measure?
And how could I ever express
The depths of the joy that have filled me?

How can I ever repay?
And how could I ever be worthy?
What can I offer You, Lord?
Who gave Your all for me?

I wanna love like You love
Give like You gave
You held nothing back
Even for those who would slay You
I wanna love like You love
Forgive as You forgave
I nailed You to the Cross
And still You never stopped wooing me
Lord, I wanna love

How can I speak of Your grace?
How can I sing of its wonders?
Whatever did You see in me
To make You call me "friend"?

And how can I call You my Lord
Then turn on the ones You have ransomed?
Lord, empty this sinful heart
And fill it with Your love

I wanna love like You love
Befriend as You befriend
You chose lowly sinners
When You could have had any king
I wanna love like You love
See like You see
I was wasted by sin
Yet You saw the beauty You'd placed within
Lord, I wanna love

How can I speak of this joy?
How can I sing of this freedom?
I, once in bondage to sin
Now soar on the wings of Your mercy

And how can I think of myself
When You came and made Yourself nothing
Lord, take me--my every breath
From this moment on I'm dead to myself

I wanna love like You love
Serve like You served
You stooped to my feet
Though You are the King of Glory
I wanna love like You love
Die like You died
You gave everything
For a world that only despised You

Lord, I only despised You
'Til You called me by Your grace
Lord, I only despised You
'Til You washed me in Your blood
By Your love…

I'm gonna love like You love
Serve like You served
You stooped to my feet
Though You are the King of Glory
I gonna love like You love
Die like You died
You gave everything
For a world that only despised You

Lord, I wanna love… like You loved me
Lord, I'm gonna love… like You loved me
I wanna love.

The Power of "How Are You?"

"How are you?"
… three one-syllable words. Not showy, not particularly profound. But, believe it or not, even these three little words can make a huge impact on a life. We live in a world of fallen humans who are inherently selfish. Ironic, isn't it, that God takes these incredibly selfish, proud little creatures called humans, makes them new creations in His power and love, and then says "okay, now I want you to go out there and love others. By this--genuine love for others--the world will know whether or not you're Mine."

…true Love, if you haven't noticed, hinges on selflessness. It is selflessness. Love also hinges on action. Love is no love at all if not coupled with loving action.
God is asking us to look, to step beyond ourselves and see His creations as He sees them and try to love them like He loves them. Seems like a pretty tall order, right? But lucky for us, it doesn't necessarily require sacrificing huge amounts of our time and energy to show Christ's love to others. You can do right here, today, it in three simple words:

"How are you?"*

These three words, asked genuinely and coupled with listening and caring** about what the answer is, can touch a person profoundly. Most people, I've found, talk about themselves 99% of the time. So when a human steps beyond their favorite subject--themselves--to ask, invite and really listen to what you care about and how you've been coping with this thing called Life, it's truly touching. It shows that you were thinking about them. That you care** about them. But most importantly, it shows them that there's something different about you… that there's Someone in your life who says "this person is important to Me, they should be important to you too."

So I challenge you today, anybody who reads this, just take five minutes to ask someone in your life--could be anyone, anywhere--"how are you?" and give them the time of day. Asking more, appropriate questions based on their answer or about things you know they're involved in gets you bonus points. Using their answer to ultimately talk about yourself equals FAIL.

You're Christ's hands and feet to those around you. Show them how much He cares.

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:34-35

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*Acceptable variations: How are you doing lately? Coupling this with a question about something you know they're involved in = serious brownie points. ;)

**sometimes you won't care. At least not right away and very deeply. But sometimes we have to do something because it's right before we "feel" it. We're to imitate Christ so trying is the first step. Do it.