LOVE is dirty.

and Darkness screamed that night, weeping for its coming ruin.
ruined.
for a scandalous deed had been done.
a offensive act had been committed.
a cry, alone in the night, broke through the atmosphere of a quiet countryside, where the only other sounds were the bleating of sheep and shuffle of cattle.
a violent life broke forth through the walls of blood and flesh of a young girl, and for the first time in the history of the universe an incredible thing took place.
Light, unapproachable, was birthed in the form of reproachable dust.
Infinite God was wrapped in the cloak of finite man, and the two became one.
one.
Jesus.
it was a simple name for a complex being, a unassuming title for the stumbling block of Israel, the cornerstone for the new temple, He who is both lion and lamb.
Jesus.
God.
He who formed the stars and crafted the galaxies came, persuaded by love, to put on mortality and poverty, and to destroy the work of the Darkness, and to suffer and bleed, all for the sake of those who cursed His name and reviled His authority.
why?
love.

guys.
we do not understand this mystery yet.
we cannot fathom the incredible thing that happened in the act of God becoming man and dying for us so that we might become His children once again and have relationship with Him.
if we say we understand it, we have not breached the wall of knowledge and fact into the heart room of desire and passion.
it was out of passion He came.
not because He had to.
not because it was the thing to do.
not because He was following the storyline.
it was desire.
passion.
love.
anyone that thinks that sounds like religion might need to hit their head a few times before thinking about it again.
this isn’t made up.
that is incredible.
no human could even think up such a thing.
no other belief system has anything like it.
no religion comes even close to demonstrating such a scandalous, glorious act of love.
none.

we say we know him.
but do we?
do we know the Lion of Judah, the Lamb who was slain, the wild, passionate man who drank with sinners and ministered to prostitutes?
do we know him?
have we perhaps taken the dirt and blood off His skin, washed him clean of the dust on his worn and weary feet, and polished him so brightly that we can’t even look at Him anymore for fear of being blinded?
listen, yes, He is so holy, and so incredibly much more than we could ever deserved.
but He still came for us.
He still laughed with sinful men, and slept on the dirt and dust next to confused and angry men, even one whom would betray Him.
He was holy not because of where He was, but Whose He was.
He was holy not because of what He didn’t do, but Who He knew.
He was holy not because He had to be, but because He wanted to be.
His focus made Him holy.
He wasn’t focused on the Father because He was free from sin.
He was free from sin because He was focused on the Father.

He wasn’t scared of the dirt.
and because of that, He could love freely, and wildly.
if we are scared to go to dirty and dark places, we will never love like He loved.
HE IS LOVE.
and He was born in a dirty and dark place.
because in the dark Light is made manifest.
in hate is Love seen more clearly.

so wipe the polish of your shoes, put on your boots, and learn to love like He did.
if Light can dwell in dust, then surely you can love your neighbor who has a bad temper and lets his dog poop in your yard.

get past yourself and embrace Him.

He isn’t scared of the dirt.
neither should you be.