Prophets of Love

“We are all at times unconscious Prophets” -Charles Spurgeon

No one can deny that we live in an imperfect world. You only have to turn on the six o’clock news to painfully see how many of us are hurting. So many starving hearts—for food, shelter, safety, dignity, acceptance, hope, and especially love. I can promise you that was never part of the Divine Plan. Recently, I was studying the biblical Prophets for a new piece of writing. Did you know that God asked the prophet Ezekiel to eat the scroll of the Lord, literally eat paper, so that he could speak God’s message to the world? Or how about the prophet Isaiah who was commanded to walk naked and barefoot through Jerusalem for three years to communicate God’s message? Or Moses, whose skin actually glowed when he delivered God’s commandments to the Israelites. How about the prophet John the Baptist who wore only sack cloth, ate locusts and honey, and frightened even the kings of the day with his fire and brimstone preaching? And then there was Jesus, our savior prophet, turning over tables, healing on the Sabbath, breaking bread with prostitutes, tax collectors, and criminals, and then delivering God’s message of Love with the sacrifice of his own life.

Ultimately, that is all a prophet really is: a messenger of Love. We may giggle at the thought of Ezekiel eating paper, Isaiah walking in the buff, Moses glowing fluorescent and wild John subsisting on bugs and honey. But we grow ever so quiet, even speechless, at Jesus giving his life to deliver God’s prophesy of Love.

There ain’t nothing easy about being a prophet! Ask our modern-day prophets like Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa, and Becca Stevens. The job of prophet is rarely well-received by the culture of the day. The audience is most-often hardened, self-consumed, and secretly suspicious of talk of Love. And yet, if there was ever a time or a place that needed to hear from God, it is right now. Our world is desperate for Prophets—anyone with a breath willing to touch the brokenness of this world with compassion, mercy, justice and hope. Show me one living human being that couldn’t stand to hear more words of love in the contours of their life!

I believe God is still anointing prophets to speak Love into the world—It’s You and Me.

We can no longer hold our tongues. We must commit to speaking “love words” at every turn. We owe God to remind the world what love looks like. We begin by following God’s lead and not looking at color, race, creed, sexual orientation—only the heart.

To be a prophet requires us to be God’s spokespeople in every exchange of our lives—we must get out of ourselves, open our eyes, and start actively looking for places, people, and situations that need to hear God’s patois of love. Our prophecies of love must first be spoken inside our families, our marriages, our circles of friends, our workplaces, in our chapels, grocery stores, and even street corners. Then, and only then, will we begin to experience the beautiful domino effect of Love. The message of love has always had far more force behind it then the message of despair. It’s time we dare to speak up for God. Maybe Ezekiel got it right…we must carry God’s words within us or, like Isaiah, strip ourselves bare so that all we are left with is our hearts to speak for us.

Whatever it takes, it’s time to show this broken world what Love can do! May we never fail to live up to the love that is in us…waiting to be spoken!

Live in Hope,

Farrell