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A great song was playing on my stereo as I drove home last night from my parents. It was a David Crowder Band song with the following lyrics:
Rain down your love on us
Rain down your love
And rain down your grace
And cover me
Rain down your love on us
Rain down your love
And rain down your peace
It’s a beautiful song and I think many of us would want that to happen. I have often sung, prayed, and pleaded for God to rain down love, and grace, and peace. That would be so amazing. Last night when the song came on I was merrily singing along.
Right until a vehicle forced me onto the shoulder of the road.
For some reason, this other driver thought the center of the road was the best place for his vehicle. We came very close to exchanging some paint. My response probably wasn’t as holy as it should have been. My thoughts, and possibly my words, while not all that bad and menacing, fell into the category Jesus would call “bad.” They were words of unlove, or not love. Jesus said: “Anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment.” And, “anyone who says ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.” I’m pretty sure I called this guy a fool, or worse.
And then I went back to singing:
And rain down your love on us
Rain down your love
And rain down your grace…
It was about that time the Holy Spirit stopped me with, “Are you listening to yourself?”
Suddenly, pressed upon my heart was the understanding that God desires this too, and that I have a part to play in this desired rain falling on the earth. Perhaps, God’s love and grace and peace are to be spread around and dumped on others by Christians like myself. I mean, if every one of us were as loving as we ought to be, the whole world would be flooded with love. Perhaps God’s love, and grace, and peace would be seen raining down all around if I wouldn’t be preventing that with a heart that’s quicker to hate then love.
Maybe I need to stop expecting God to send down what he’s longing for us to pour out.
And maybe I’m not the only one.
May we be the love and the grace and the peace that God has rained down.
Rain down your love on us
Rain down your love
And rain down your grace
And cover me
Rain down your love on us
Rain down your love
And rain down your peace
It’s a beautiful song and I think many of us would want that to happen. I have often sung, prayed, and pleaded for God to rain down love, and grace, and peace. That would be so amazing. Last night when the song came on I was merrily singing along.
Right until a vehicle forced me onto the shoulder of the road.
For some reason, this other driver thought the center of the road was the best place for his vehicle. We came very close to exchanging some paint. My response probably wasn’t as holy as it should have been. My thoughts, and possibly my words, while not all that bad and menacing, fell into the category Jesus would call “bad.” They were words of unlove, or not love. Jesus said: “Anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment.” And, “anyone who says ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.” I’m pretty sure I called this guy a fool, or worse.
And then I went back to singing:
And rain down your love on us
Rain down your love
And rain down your grace…
It was about that time the Holy Spirit stopped me with, “Are you listening to yourself?”
Suddenly, pressed upon my heart was the understanding that God desires this too, and that I have a part to play in this desired rain falling on the earth. Perhaps, God’s love and grace and peace are to be spread around and dumped on others by Christians like myself. I mean, if every one of us were as loving as we ought to be, the whole world would be flooded with love. Perhaps God’s love, and grace, and peace would be seen raining down all around if I wouldn’t be preventing that with a heart that’s quicker to hate then love.
Maybe I need to stop expecting God to send down what he’s longing for us to pour out.
And maybe I’m not the only one.
May we be the love and the grace and the peace that God has rained down.
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