Love is the Greatest

     As the worship leader at Clay Community Church, time alone with God has to be a priority in my life. If my relationship isn't right with Him, I won't be sensitive to choosing the correct songs or hearing the encouragement He wants to share with us. I could sing and encourage until I'm blue in the face. If I don't do it out of the love I have for God, then He won't be in it. It would be useless and ineffective for His kingdom.
      God deserves our very best. To love Him through our singing, pleases Him. There is no question about that. If we are genuine in our love for Him, then the Holy Spirit will compel us to take it a step higher to worship Him through loving others as well.
     Love is a fruit of the Spirit. Without it, we are nothing. We live our lives for ourselves. When we practice love, our whole world changes. It doesn't always guarantee a "feel good" emotion, but it is a conscious act. It is something we "do". It would be easy if we could pick and choose who to love .... but then what about the unlovely? We are commanded to love one another. That means those we like and those we don't like so much. God didn't say that we have to like others. He says we are to love others. One is a feeling. The other is a decision to take action. We are to love people even if we don't think they deserve it. Since Jesus doesn't physically live on this earth anymore, He desires to use our varied personalities and giftings to love others through us. We are His representatives. We can also receive love in the same manner.
     I am not an expert on love by any means. I am a work in progress. I fall short of the call many times a day. But we must always work towards godliness. In 2 Peter 1:5-7, we are told that godliness leads to love for other Christians. Godliness just doesn't suddenly appear. It is through a process of maturity that the Holy Spirit guides us.
It seems easier for me when I write out the unfolding this way:

1. We must allow faith to produce a life of moral excellence, which leads to
2. Knowing God better, which gives us the ability to
3. Exercise self-control, which leads us to
4. Patient endurance, resulting in
5. Godliness. Once we have godliness we are able to develop
6. Love for other Christians, (which will keep us from getting spiritually dull and indifferent - Heb.6:10-12 NLT)  and finally .....
7. We will grow to have genuine love for everyone.

That's loving God by loving people. That's worship in action. It sounds like a tall order, but I'm in it for the long haul. How about you? It's definitely worth it.