A Big God's Big Love

Yesterday in church we sang, "How Great Thou Art."  As I was singing I happened to look at two of my friends who had just gotten married.  See, these newly weds had visited the Grand Canyon on their honeymoon and I thought "How Great Thou Art" would mean so much more to them now.  Then I thought of my honeymoon.  Christine and I went to the mountains of Colorado.  I thought of the massive Rockies and the brook that ran through a beautiful meadow we hiked through.  I remembered the waterfall we stood by and the number of times were were blown away by God's glorious creation.

The congregation continued to sing these words of "How Great Thou Art"

"And when I think that God His Son not sparing/ Sent Him to die I scarce can take it in/ That on the cross my burden gladly bearing/ He bled and died to take away my sin."

As those lines were sung my heart was filled with a joyous thankfulness.  I imagined taking my family back to Rocky Mountain National Park and explaining to my child how the same God that made those mountains loves them.  I was blown away in that moment of imagination and worship.

But later another more convicting thought entered my mind.  See, there are some people I can't stand.  Some people annoy me.  Some people in my world and on the news seem like pure evil and I wish they would die.

Here's the convicting thought that I had:

The same God who made the mountains loves the people I don't love.

What right do I have to hate them?  What right do I have to be impatient with them?  What right do I have to not even tolerate them?  If I want to be like the God I claim to serve I need to love them, too.

I have a big God's love and I have no right to hoard my big God's big love.  Join me in worship today of our unimaginably big God and join me in trying to love like our big God loves today.

Imagine the most beautiful part of creation you've seen as you listen to this song today.