I've Been Thinking...

Here's something that's been on my mind lately.  Who do you love?  Who do you love well? 

But first, a little back story:
Faith is impressionable.  VERY impressionable.  She picks up on anything that even has the connotation of bad, naughty, disrespectful, or unkind.  So we had to make a change in the music we were feeding ourselves with.  When your 4 year old is singing "don't drink it til the mountains are blue" or "country girl, shake it for me," there's an issue.  So we switched over to the good ole christian radio stations.  Yes, they are sometimes painfully out of date, but at least its not beer drinking or sex talking music, right?  I definitely love hearing her sing 10000 Reasons as opposed to anyone on Jake FM.  I'm just sayin'.
The problem lies here.  For the past few weeks I've had something stuck in my craw when I hear a few songs talking about "loving the unlovable" and "the least of these."  The one that just makes me scream at the radio is when the person is asking God to please give them grace to forgive a person because they don't know what they're doing. WHAT?!?!?  I don't doubt these writers love Jesus, but excuse me, aren't we the least of these? Are you and I and the whole human race the unlovable?  Aren't we all lepers in need of healing?  The world as a whole is broken.  It just strikes me wrong that many of those songs act like today's Christians are doing the world some favor by loving people. And I AM today's christian.  Yes, Jesus talked about the sick needing a doctor, and not the well people, but HE WAS JESUS. And he WAS perfect.  And he was and is the only person that can really talk (or sing if He's into that kinda thing) about how it is to love the unlovable.  Only Jesus can say "Father, forgive them because they don't know what they're doing." Christ alone.
Now please, don't get me wrong, loving some people is HARD work.  But isn't that more of an Amanda problem and not a "them problem?" Do I really believe that everyone thinks that because I'm forgiven that I'm so easy to be around, to love, to live life with? Ha, hardly.  Christians are no more lovable than the conceited, the rich, the drug addict, the self obsessed, the homeless.  We are no more lovable than them because we ARE them.  And just to clarify, I'm not saying that we could be there one day, I'm saying we are there.  We are all depraved. Every last human on this planet.  Get over yourselves, Christians. (Again, me being one of them. I mean, us.)
So I think we just need to sing a song, a prayer, an earnest cry that begs God to teach us to love.  Without motive, not for personal gain. To love others how He has loved us.  Uninhibited, reckless, passionate.   Not because its easy or hard or because its deserved or because we feel sorry for people.  Just because.

My "I love" T-shirt

I had a friend in college that wore a shirt that said " I love my husband." Everyone thought it was  sweet, but she told a group of us later that she only wore it when they we're at each others throats. She was just reminding herself of at she already knew.

If  had an "I love" shirt today this  what it would say:

I love loud classrooms.
I love  cooking dinner.
I  love talking about dieting. No, actually  really just  hate that one.
I love friends on Facebook that complain about their husbands horribly then whine because their marriage is bad. Actually loathe that one.
I love email.
I love baby formula.
I love my phone.

Can't you feel the love?