God is not an old white guy with a long white beard and a long white robe, sitting on a little white cloud and judging you.

We Christians do much to mess up people’s view of God. We do it in a lot of ways, but here’s one: we skip the first step.

See, as you follow Jesus, he changes you for the better. The Holy Spirit guides you through each of the things that keep you from being who he made you to be. Side note: I’ll discuss the Trinity more in other posts. The idea is to become more like Jesus — kinder, more loving, more rooted in truth — and thereby get closer to Him.

This is a really good thing, but it involves a lot of work. I think we must get insecure, because as we look at our own flaws, we start picking at others’ flaws. We start getting all judgmental, forgetting how this whole thing started.

We forget, and we get things backwards.

That’s why I love this song.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WybvhRu9KU]

Okay, having seen the video, forget the flying otter-dog-thing and the floating hearts for a second.

I love that song because it reminds us of our starting point. The simple, profound truth that changes everything.

God is love, and He loves everyone. That always comes first.