BE!
…by Chuck Graham
We waste so much time talking. What we say is never as important as who we are. We hide behind a mask, telling others to be this or do that…though we never come close to such measures. Then they discover who we are. Everything we’ve said falls away, and they never trust our words again.
Do we claim to be a child of the Father, a friend of His Son, a light of His Spirit? Then we must BE that child, friend, and light. God focuses on who we are, never seeking perfection. Every child stumbles. Every friend falters. Every light flickers. He searches for what matters…LOVE.
Are we willing to BE the people who love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength? Are we willing to BE the people who share His love with everyone…those we like and those we don’t? Are we willing to BE the proof of His love?
If I sing but don’t have love, I waste my breath with every song.
I bring an empty voice, a hollow noise.
If I speak with a silver tongue, convince a crowd, but don’t have love,
I leave a bitter taste with every word I say.
So let my life be the proof, the proof of your love.
Let my love look like You and what You’re made of.
How You lived. How You died. Love is sacrifice.
So let my life be the proof, the proof of Your love
If I give to a needy soul but don’t have love, then who is poor?
It seems all the poverty is found in me
So let my life be the proof, the proof of your love.
Let my love look like You and what You’re made of.
How You lived. How You died. Love is sacrifice.
So let my life be the proof, the proof of Your love
When it’s all said and done…when we sing our final song
Only love remains. Only love remains.
If I could speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but I don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all His mysteries and making everything as plain as day, and if I say to a mountain, “Jump”, and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing. If I give all I own to the poor or if I even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr but I don’t have love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So no matter what we say, no matter what we believe, no matter what we do, we’re bankrupt without love.
So let my life be the proof, the proof of your love.
Let my love look like You and what You’re made of.
How You lived, how You died. Love is sacrifice.
So let my life be the proof, the proof of Your love.
Take care & BE!
Chuck
Chuck Graham is Founder and Executive Director of Ciloa , an international ministry devoted to sharing God’s encouragement and teaching others how to “encourage one another as long as it is called Today!” He is also an author, speaker, teacher, and encourager. Chuck and his wife, Beverly, live in Lawrenceville, Georgia, USA. You can learn more about Chuck and Ciloa at www.Ciloa.org .
The Proof of Your Love , recorded by For King and Country, 2012, Warner Music Group. Written by Luke Smallbone, Joel Smallbone, Ben Glover, Frederick Williams, Jonathan Lee, & Mia Fieldes. Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc, Universal Music Publishing Group, Capitol Christian Music Group, Fun Attic Music, LLC. B ased on 1 Corinthians 13, specifically verses 1-3:
If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.
