the love of Jesus
is profoundly uncomplicated
"Jesus loves me this I know
for the Bible tells me so
little ones to Him belong
they are weak
but He is strong
yes Jesus loves me
yes Jesus loves me
yes Jesus loves me
the Bible tells me so"
at the center
at the foundation
around all
above all
in all
this is truth...He loves me.
He loves you.
in an incredibly painful
yet beautifully tangible way
for the giving of His life
whispers with a fierceness so gentle
"I love you"
a whisper still echoing
around the world today
and the grace flowing from that cross
pours crimson over even the most
broken
bruised
bleeding
heart
for is that not the heart
captured by His heart?
truth so profound
so uncomplicated
but oh how complicated
we as humans can make it
for do we not often put
white picket fences around
our church buildings?
and do we not often say
(perhaps not in words but in actions)
"we must take care of our own"
and do we not often become
consumed with conflict and pride
causing our eyes to
focus inward rather than
upward and outward?
and how many rules
be they spoken or unspoken
do we not have in place?
for surely we would
not want our
white picket fences
to become spattered
or smudged
with the dirt of the world
and all this I say with no condemnation
for I have been oh so guilty
of these things
and more
I see no white picket fences
I see no fear of
spatters or smudges
or mud or worse
for did He not tend
to be where the church
of His day did not want
to be seen?
did He not go out of
His way to touch
(yes literally touch)
a heart a body a life
rejected by not just
the church but by society
as a whole?
and I believe with all my heart
the same is true of Jesus today
He lives
He loves
He blesses
He touches
(yes even touches)
outside the four (or more) walls
of the church!
oh also within the walls
to be sure
yet not confined
within any picket fences
of human making
for is not the purpose
of the church to be the love
(yes that profoundly uncomplicated love)
of Jesus in this world so hurting?
to reach out
to step out
to risk the spatters
the smudges
to risk getting
our hands our feet
dirty as gently
we touch those lives so
vulnerable and in need of
that love
and we become
the fragrance of Jesus
No comments:
Post a Comment