My love for Christ = Hepatophyta

Agapao: The love God has for mankind

Phileo: The love we have for our brothers

In Greek, Jesus asks Peter, "Do you agapao me?" And Peter answers, "Yes Lord, I phileo you."

Do I strive to love Christ as or do I strive to love Christ as the one who laid down his life for me? Christ does not ask, "Hey, uh, do you kinda like me, like you do your brother?" NO, Christ asks, "JOSH, DO YOU AGAPAO ME?" Can I honestly say Yes? Can anyone love Christ as much as he loves us? I don't think so. But I can sure strive for it. Everyday, I can strive to be more like him, to act in ways linear to his, to show genuine love for others, to be his image here on earth.

Nerdy relation to science time. There is a group of plants called the Hepatophyta, which are liverworts (a type of moss)- whatever, it doesn't matter. Anyway, each single plant has tiny little indents/divots called gemmae cups. Within each cup are thousands of spores. Kira Thornley: "What's a spore?" I'm glad you asked. It's an asexual reproductive body, meaning it will make more Hepatophyta by itself. Well, in order for these spores to be dispersed, they have to leave their gemmae cups. In order for that to happen, a drop of water has to hit the gemmae cup and cause the spores inside to bounce out and spread to the surrounding environment.

What's the point? Well, I was sitting in class and all of the sudden, this nerdy image of gemmae cups pops into my mind. Christ asks me, "Do you love me enough to be willing to spread THIS love that I have shown to you to others?" BRICK WALL. If the hepatophyte does not make more of itself, then eventually it will die out and have nothing to show for it. What will its purpose have been? If I sit idly by and refuse to spread this love of Christ to others, DO I LOVE HIM? What does Christ ask of me in Matthew 28. Go and make disciples. He also informs me that if I deny him before men, then he will deny me before the father.

Am I going to be a pointless Hepatophyta who sits around and is too selfish and self-centered to spread this love that is naturally and incredibly inside of me, to spread these spores that are naturally and incredibly made on this plant body? Christ says, "Josh, do you agapao me?" Here I go!

No more phileo love. No more spreading one spore at a time. It's time to spread HUNDREDS, THOUSANDS, MILLIONS, ALL the spores I can. I need to scatter the earth with spore-loving Jesus goodness. This love inside of me needs to naturally - just like a water drop naturally hits me - infiltrate the earth. It's Jesus loving time!