Walking the Line

I've blogged on love before, but I think there's enough unsaid to warrant another trip to that well. I saw this commercial a while ago, and it was catchy enough to stick in my head. Not being a Johnny Cash fan, I actually prefer this version. Yes, I know it's a commercial. I've heard it before, but I realized that it has a better message than I thought. It was originally written about romantic love, but there's a much deeper message than that.



Two things really hit me from this song.
1. The only way for me to demonstrate my love for God was to do what he asked me to
2. The only reason that I have to motivate me to do what God asked me to is Love.

John 14:15 - If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
1 John 5:3 - For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.
2 John 1:6 - And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it.

God didn't assign Christians to act out empty rituals. Compared to most other religions, we have almost no rituals. We are supposed to baptize, but baptism is not something to help us curry God's favor, or to help us get into heaven, rather it is demonstrating physically what has already happened spiritually. Similarly, the Lord's Table is not simply eating bread and drinking wine, it is a physical reminder of what we need to be focusing on in our daily lives.

Look at James' articulation of faith. Belief is not in the saying, it's in the doing. People say whatever, but our actions are the ultimate deciders in the kind of people we are. Act in a way that is loving and demonstrates concern, and people will respond, because actions are hard to fake. Now ask yourself: What am I doing to prove my love for the people in my life? My love for God?