I will fight to follow
I will fight for love
Throw my life forever
To the triumph of the Son
-- "Love is War" by Hillsong UNITED

"I will fight for love." What a true statement.

When asked by the pharisees in Matthew 22 which commandment was the most important, “Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

Loving God is the easy part; what is not to love? It is loving my neighbor as myself that is the issue. This is something I fight with constantly—seeing the good in people and loving people as God does. Psalm 104:31 says, “May the glory of the Lord continue forever, the Lord takes pleasure in all He has made.” This is a great truth for me to claim over myself, however, at a practical level, if God takes pleasure in something He has created, then so should I. Regardless of a person’s attitude toward me, or my perception of their attitude toward me, I should love them.

Let Your love be my companion
In the war against my pride
Long to break all vain obsession
Till You're all that I desire

Turn my eyes to see Your face
As all my fears surrender
Hold my heart within this grace
Where burden turns to wonder

Lately I’ve come to the realization that the Christian life is about loving people. Sure, this seems blatantly obvious given the words Jesus spoke in Matthew 22:38-39, but as of late this has clicked with me. If I cannot love people it can only be one of two things, either I don’t believe that God loves me or that He finds pleasure in me, or, my pride and vanity are in the way of loving others. 

I will not change my home or my community by love alone. No. Prayer must be actioned with love. Disciplining my children cannot be done out of fear or anger; it must be done out of love.

If I feel that I have been wronged by someone, perhaps judged or demeaned in some way, my first reaction needs to be love, not hurt and withdrawal. If I take the love of God with me, wherever I go, and let that defeat my pride, then love will be my first response. My fear, which is a product of my pride will be surrendered to the grace of God, and I will be left at the point I am at, in wonder of the love of God.

And I know Your love has won it all
You took the fall
To embrace my sorrows
I know You took the fight
You came and died but the grave was borrowed
I know You stood again
So I can stand with a life to follow
In the light of Your name

2 Corinthians 4:4 says, “Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.” I can’t help but think that when people witness godly love with their own eyes, that their minds might then be opened to understand the Gospel and the will be able to see the glorious light of Christ. 

Love will have won the war.