“So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:18-19
"All You Need Is Love" was written by John Lennon and this song was first performed by The Beatles on a black and white, live global television link, watched by over 150 million in 26 countries, on June 25, 1967. Lennon was known for creating art out of propaganda with songs like "Give Peace a Chance” and “Power to the People.” When asked in 1971 if he wrote songs as propaganda, he responded, 'Sure. So was ‘All You Need Is Love.’ I'm a revolutionary artist. My art is dedicated to change.'’” When “All You Need is Love” was released in the UK July 7, 1967, it went straight to number one and remained there for three weeks. In comparison, in the U.S.A. when it was released July 17th, it reached number one for only one week.
Note to self: For love to be revolutionary, and to effect change, it is going to have to last longer than a week.
The Root of Prayer belief begins with love. This should come as no surprise. The Bible is clear, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever shall believeth in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
The Root of Prayer produces the fruit of The Spirit. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control…” Galatians 5:22-23
Paul prayed for the early believers to be marked by the The Root of Prayer that produces the fruit of love. Love must first be embraced in the form of a relationship with Jesus. Then, love must be expressed by the followers of Jesus. A loveless religion is a poor substitute for the love filled relationship that Jesus offers to those who receive Him as their Savior and Lord. True believers won’t settle for anything less.
Embracing and expressing the love of God, begins by receiving God’s Son, Jesus. The indwelling Christ increases the believer’s comprehension of the character of God. Paul prayed for believers to have the capacity to expand their grasp on God’s love. Love is, simultaneously, the most basic truth about God, and the highest expression of the character of God. Love is the essential key, not an optional adornment, to any valid expression of Christianity. Don’t leave home without it.
The Root of Prayer is deepened by believing and receiving Christ’s love, and leads to the producing and reproducing The Fruit of The Spirit. The Father’s love is the mark of a Christian. The Root produces The Fruit of The Spirit. It is hopeless to try to produce The Fruit without The Root. No root. No fruit.
Christ’s love is expressed as undefeatable good will to friends, and unconquerable benevolence to enemies. It is not ethereal or emotional. It is practical and available. Christ’s love reveals “the breadth and length and height and depth” of the character of God. The Spirit releases this love in the lives of Christ’s followers. Christ’s love is the evidence of His Presence, and it is the Fruit of The Spirit.
Believers will not stop at what they know about love. They will hunger for more. They pray to receive and then they pray to express the love that God has in His heart for those who need His love. The Root of Prayer drives them “To Know God and To Make Him Known.” Believers are life-long learners who pray earnestly for their lives to be an expression of God love. They pray in order to “know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge.”
Believers are not merely to receive Christ’s love in a one stop does all kind of experience. Their lives are to be overflowing with prayer to God for the love of God. They are not selfish children focused on the thrill of the fill. The Spirit of God brings into their lives the character of Christ, so that they may “ be filled up to all the fullness of God.” Believers are self-less servants, not selfish children. Self-less people are full of The Spirit, not full of self.
The song “All You Need is Love” had a clear message, but it clearly failed to change the world. That doesn’t mean the title did not express the truth, or that Lennon had it all wrong. There is just no power in a title, and there is no wisdom in the right vocabulary defined by the wrong dictionary. Words mean things, but to change lives, love must mean the right thing.
The power is in the love of Christ, and The Root of Prayer releases His power. Singing about love and expressing love are two different things. Hearing a song does not transform one’s character. Yielding to The Spirit is the only way to be transformed by Christ’s character and to produce His conduct.
To have the right fruit, don’t forget The Root. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!