Captivated

Last night's sermon provoked quite a bit of thought today and thus, I must blog : ) It was a simple message really, yet so profound that most of us don't live it. The title was simply "Loving the Lord". I would like to preface this blog with this statement: I am in NO way trying to expound on what was preached. I am not trying to be super spiritual. I don't want any of you thinking I have a woman-preacher-spirit on me, though I have been called worse : )  I just like to pour my heart out about certain things, especially when it hits home, so here goes...

We all love Jesus. Even the drunk on the corner claims there is a God and that he loves Him. The fact is, piety has become an epidemic. People - who call themselves Christians - are walking around with their nose in the air, daring you to question their relationship with the Savior. They ease their conscience with a claim to religion, when their actions speak to an altogether different opinion. I do not speak of things I have heard, but what I have witnessed first hand. I'm not judging people, let's make that clear. But, upon looking at an apple tree and declaring that it produces apples, one has only voiced truth in the matter, not judgement. I have so far to go myself in this Christian walk, I try not to be distracted by others. I never want to be of the opinion that I am farther along than anyone else, or that my sins are any less condemning because that isn't the case. The sermon that stirred my heart was about loving Jesus, not just saying it, but really falling in love with Him. I have been guilty of vain repetitions, it's so easy to just automatically say I love the Lord. But, I started thinking about whether or not I had a real love for my Savior, a love that produced an obedience to His Word, even when it cut me to the bone. That's a sobering thought and I realized how often I have fallen short. I also realized how little I see it in others as well. We all have to look at ourselves in the mirror of the Word, but sometimes we have to glance at others to get an idea of where we are. We don't judge ourselves by someone else's standard, we are all individuals. But, if you are running a race and you never look at the other runners, you will never know where your place is, or if you need to make an adjustment. Sometimes, seeing something that isn't Christ-like in someone else's life will produce a deeper walk in our own life. We learn by our own mistakes, but also the mistakes of others. We will pray harder, live better, forgive more often. It saddened me to think that Jesus is longing for a love affair with His children, but we have closed our hearts to Him. I thought about the people that sit on a Message pew and never bother to accept the Word that is preached. They never consider for a second that the Lord is speaking to them, of all people. There is an air of hypocrisy that blows all around us, suffocates us at times. If there is one thing I never want to be, it is a hypocrite. I don't want to say one thing and live another. Seeing so much of it has left a mark on my heart, but it is a constant reminder of something I don't want to become. I want to be open and receptive to what the Lord has to say to me. It isn't pitchfork religion, we all need correction at times. I can't fully understand all of the things I have been through, but I see glimpses of the person I am becoming and it makes me thankful for my trials. I hope I can pour out the love of Jesus so much that people can't help but become saturated in it. Goodness knows, we all need more love. There will always be those pious, haughty, self righteous hypocrites out there. But there are also those precious few people that seem to be Jesus robed in flesh. Handfuls of purpose. A reminder that for every negative there is a positive, for every cloud, a silver lining and for every trial, a blessing.