“Love that goes upward is worship; love that goes outward is affection; love that stoops is grace” (Dr. Donald Barnhouse).

I think the first two are possible because of the third. There is no worship or affection without grace. Unless God had first loved us, we couldn’t have loved Him — or anybody else.

I also think that sometimes God enables us to give the kind of love that stoops to those less fortunate. Sometimes, we’re the givers and sometimes we’re the receivers. But in every case, it’s grace. It’s where we look most like the Father.

I love this definition of worship because it’s more than singing songs. As great as it is to be caught up in a moment in the midst of praising God through music, we neglect the true nature of worship when we limit it to the three or four songs we sing on Sunday.

Affection is a word we need to take back from a society that has sexualized it. Affection can exist without there being any hint of romance. It can be between parent and child, brother and sister, or between friends. It’s tangible kindness on display.

Lord, teach us how to love like You have loved us. Help us not to be a Dead Sea of love where all the love in us never goes anywhere but stagnates. Help us to be rivers where the love flows in and through us to those who need it as much as we did (and still do). Amen.