You Put This Love in my Heart....

It's a song that Keith Green wrote some years ago that continues to course through my brain. While it has been there resting comfortably for some time, it was awakened to my conscious thought during my recent trip to Saipan. I had been asked to present a week of prayer and spiritual emphasis to a group of students, ranging from preschool up through the 10th grade. Reaching a group that was so diverse in age was a challenge, and yet my primary concern was reaching these students that were diverse in their cultures and backgrounds. It was actually during a discussion with one of these students that the song was brought to the forefront of my mind.

"J" is a young man of probably 11 or 12 years of age, but his intellengence far exceeds his chronological age. He is what many would call a free thinker, and he is honest enough with himself not to be swayed by what others are saying or thinking. He is committed to studying the issues through for himself before he will take a stand for one side or the other.

He considers himself an atheist.

He came to me and said, "Pastor, isn't there a verse that says that a person should love his brother if he is to show that he loves God?" I nodded and showed him I John 4:8 - "The person who refuses to love doesn't know the first thing about God because God is love - so you can't know Him if you don't love." (Message) He was quiet for a bit, then said, "What about all those people who say that they are Christians and yet hate and kill others because they are different or don't believe in the same way that the Christians do?"

I paused. The Lord reminded me of a text in Matthew 7. I said, "J, it seems to me that something might be wrong if a person says that he is a Christian but doesn't demonstrate the one thing that is supposed to differentiate a Christian from the rest of the world. Jesus knew that there would be people like that - some who from the outside would look so much like the real thing that most people couldn't tell the difference. But there is a very big difference." I turned to verses 21 through 23: "Not everyone who says to Me 'Lord, Lord' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?'" I paused and said, "Doesn't it look like these people have the power of God working in their lives to do all of theses miracles and wonderful things?" J nodded his head. I said, "But wait - there's more."

"And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.'"

J paused, and I could see that he was wondering what it all meant. I remembered Romans 13:10. "Listen to this: 'Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.'"

I could see the light dawning. "So you see, those people who were doing all of the miracles never had developed a love relationship with God, because that is the source of our love for each other. Without that, they couldn't fulfill the law, because for the law to be truly complete, it has to be lived through love. So just because a person says that he is a Christian doesn't necessarily mean that he has a relationship - a love relationship - with God or his fellow man."

J nodded his head. I could tell he wanted to think about this for a while. I too wanted to dwell on this thought, because so many times in my life I had "played" Christian without allowing the love of God to transform me. And I knew what that felt like. Praise God, I also knew what it felt like to have the love bubbling up through me and all over anyone who happened to be nearby!

And that is when the song came to my mind: "You Put This Love in my Heart." I was reminded again that I loved J and all of the other kids that I had barely met, yet would always have a spot in my heart. I knew that God had a special place in His heart for these young men and women, and that He would do anything to bring them into that special relationship with Him. They truly were worth dying for.

J is still thinking. Perhaps his heart is being warmed by the love of God.

I can't wait to spend eternity with him!

God bless you abundantly!