There’s a song I really like that’s called “Pass It On.” The beginning of the song reads, “it only takes a spark to get a fire going … ” It is about how God’s love moves and grows with us as we experience that love. Once we do experience it, it’s almost impossible for us to not pass it on to others. This past weekend, I was changing a light fixture outside of a house with some friends. We made sure the current was cut off and the voltage test meter read 0.0 volts, so I went ahead and changed the fixture out. As I was beginning to wire up the new light, I got shocked. It hurt bad. So my friend put the voltage meter on it again and it read 0.0 volts. I think for a while my friends thought I was playing with them and didn’t really get the jolt I was still complaining about. They laughed at me, but it wasn’t funny. (Well OK, it was pretty funny, but it still hurt).

As the day continued, I began to think about the hymn, “Pass It On” and how it only takes a spark to get a fire started. I thought about the shock I got, how it got my attention, and how even hours later I could still feel tingling in my hands and wrists. Weird right? Then I thought, what if that is how other people feel when they experience God’s love for the first time? It gets their attention in a sudden, overwhelming way that causes a tingling in their hearts and/or spirits that lingers, perhaps fills them up, and that becomes irresistible to pass it on to others. I hope you have experienced God’s love and know the immense joy that comes from knowing you are loved so much, just because you are you. And it’s also my hope that you will not just want to keep it for yourself, but that you will want to spread this love to everyone you can.

God loved us so much that he passed his son Jesus on to us in humanity. From heaven to earth he came … and he was killed. God loved us so much, he sent his son to die, and his resurrection got our attention. May we be attentive to God’s love in our lives. May we spread it, share it, sow it, and show it as God first did it for us.

Tim Beck is pastor of Kenbridge United Methodist Church. His email address is revtimbeck@ gmail.com.