“I Love You With the Love of the Lord”

 
We have sung the song at every YWAM (Youth With a Mission) meeting we’ve been to this month, and every time, I am convicted.

At our first meeting, they were singing this song to our team in Thai and I had no idea what they were singing. At the next meeting, one of the girls who knows some English translated it for me and sang it to me in English. I stood there humbled and amazed at the words.

I was convicted every time I heard this because I realized how far away I am from actually living this out.
I love you with the love of the Lord. This isn’t some sort of superficial, “We click and I enjoy the time we spend together” kind of love that I am such a fan of. This is deep, sacrificial love.

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us” 1 John 4:7-12

We are able to love because we have been loved first. We are loved wholly, completely, and with more grace than we could ever imagine. And that’s how were called to love.

But I am so quick to withhold my love if someone hurts me. I am so quick to put walls up if I sense the love I give is not going to be given in return.

What if Jesus had loved like that? That would have been ridiculous. There would have been no Cross and no redemption and no grace because we could never and will never be able to pay Him back. Ever. What if Jesus said, “Oh you hurt me and chose to love something else more than you love Me in that moment. No more love for you.” We would all be sunk from the second we took our first breath.

Then the second line says “I can see in you, the glory of my King”. I got chocked up when I processed this for the first time.

I started thinking about how desperately I need new eyes. I don’t want to see people as they are, I want to see them as glimpses of the glory of Jesus. Because that is truly who they are. That should change every part of how I treat people. Every single person I am in contact with should be treated like they represent a part of the Father’s heart that I am blessed to be able to experience.

Every person we meet is allowing us to get one step closer to knowing the beauty, goodness, strength and love of our God.

Last night, we had a worship service at one of the university campuses. There were people sitting all along the outskirts of the place we were worshipping. Most of the people in Thailand are Buddhist, so it’s safe to assume that most if not all of those students were not in a relationship with Jesus Christ.

They had everyone at the meeting go up to those tables and sing this song to them and give them a little chocolate bar.

I was confused at first. I said, “But God, I don’t even know them. I don’t love them with the love of the Lord. I don’t see You when I look at them.”

I felt God lay on my heart in that moment, “Exactly”.

It doesn’t matter that I don’t know them and they don’t know Jesus. I am called to love them like He loves them and see that even if they are living their life for an idol, they were also made in the image of God.

I have never really thought of that. But the Bible doesn’t say “Everyone who loves Jesus was made in the image of God”. Nope. It’s says in Genesis 1:27 “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them”

I pray that this song and revelation impacts your life as well. I pray that our love for people is not longer tainted to fulfill our own desires or quest to be accepted. I pray that we take each opportunity to love like the Lord and see His glory in the people we share our lives with.