Do you remember that song from the late 80’s, Let Love Rule by Lenny Kravitz? [Yes, I know, sorry: if you knew it, it’s now stuck in your head.] That’s sort of what a lot of people think of when they hear the phrase “let love rule.” All slow and hippie and melodic and moody.

Here are the lyrics:

Love is gentle as a rose
And love can conquer any war
It’s time to take a stand
Brothers and sisters join hands

We got to let love rule
Let love rule

Love transcends all space and time
And love can make a little child smile
Can’t you see this won’t go wrong
But we got to be strong
We can’t do it alone

And we’re probably pretty okay with that… But when we hear the phrase “let God rule,” we balk. The image many conjure is more akin to Hitler’s Gestapo than Lenny crooning in a field. I mean, how does He mean to rule us, with an iron fist?

But (just a reminder), God is love.

He IS love.

“God is love. This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. We know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. We love because He first loved us.” (from 1 John 4:8-10, 16, 19, emphasis mine)

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His is a love that inspires and compels us, not one that suppresses and depresses us. When you let God rule, you let love rule.

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

Have you come to Him today? Perhaps you will, maybe anew? Or maybe for the first time?