A power not our own

How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these. (George Washington Carver)

...may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. (Ephesians 3:18-19)

We cannot know the full depth or breadth of God's love. It is something that transcends human imagination. We can learn of his love, appreciate how it works, and then seek to participate in that love more and more each day. We cannot neglect it, for God's love has done great things on our behalf already. We shall not escape it, for God's love is a seeking and tenacious force. We can enter into it - becoming more and more discontented with any 'false love' that touts itself as 'better', 'best', or 'worth more' than his love for us. It isn't until we experience the love of God that all other 'love' pales in comparison. We may have thought we knew what love 'is' or 'does', but when we see what God's love actually has done and continues to do on our behalf, we learn love is really a person - Christ Jesus.

So many times, we seek to be 'completed' by something or someone on this earth. We call this 'being in love' with another, or being 'dedicated to' a particular object or process. We will never find 'completion' in those things or individuals, though. We can only find the love we seek when we turn our eyes fully toward Christ, welcoming him into our hearts, and allowing him to heal our hurts and deal with our hangups in that love he brings. Our 'completion' isn't found in an object - it is found in a relationship with him. Too many times, we allow 'religious pursuit' to be a lousy substitute for really knowing him as we should. Whenever our 'passion' is the pursuit of mere 'religious' things, we miss the relationship we so desperately require.

We go through phases in life - from a wee newborn to an aging adult. None of these 'phases' is without purpose. In much the same way, we go through 'phases' in our relationship with Jesus - each serving a purpose we may not fully understand. We grow warm, then cooler, then warm again - almost without even noticing when the coolness first enters in. As we 'grow in Christ', our appreciation of the depth, breadth, and width of his love begins to dawn. What we do in the times of 'great growth' determines what will keep us in times of 'lean growth'. To really know the fullness of his life and power within, we will experience both. It is by leaning into his love that we begin to walk in a power not our own. Just sayin!

Is this how it was intended to be?

 Love cures people - both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it. (Karl A. Menninger)

I give you a new command: Love each other. You must love each other just as I loved you. All people will know that you are my followers if you love each other. (John 13:34-35)

Some in this world crave love because they really haven't seen much love modeled in their lives - rejected, alone in most of their actions, drifting kind of aimlessly from one relationship to another, just hoping they will find 'whatever' it is they crave. Love isn't learned from the textbooks - it is modeled behavior. We can absolutely KNOW God loves us because he sent his son to 'model' the behaviors of love. His love has been in action since he created heaven and earth, but if we ever doubted his love, we only need to look to the actions of Jesus on our behalf, the actions of his Father in sending him to earth, and then the actions of the Father pronouncing sin's penalty has been paid once and for all through Jesus.

Love has a curative effect - it envelops us in its actions and surrounds us with its gentleness. Is love always gentle, though? I never thought it was when my parents would discipline me for some misguided action on my part - until I was the parent and had to take similar actions in the lives of my two children. It was then that I realized love isn't always 'gentle' as some may think of gentleness - but it is directive, protective, and restorative! Love gives what one needs, not always what one deserves. This is indeed good news, isn't it? We need God's gentle love, but there are times we need his discipline in our lives in order to bring correction. Both are God's love expressed, with one being a whole lot easier to accept than the other!

Love isn't ethereal - it is practical and is often seen in the actions of another. We would find it hard to believe someone who said they loved us and then saw no actions that revealed that love, wouldn't we? We are the kind of people who need 'proof' that what is said is meant. Isn't God good to give us that 'proof' in his Son? We might think we don't need his love, but there is no basis for real love apart from God initiating the actions of love within us. We might have 'fond feelings' or 'good vibes', but we don't really experience love as God intends it to be experienced until we experience his love. Just sayin!

Learning this all over again

Who can measure the wealth and wisdom and knowledge of God? Who can understand his decisions or explain what he does? “Has anyone known the thoughts of the Lord or given him advice? Has anyone loaned something to the Lord that must be repaid?” Everything comes from the Lord. All things were made because of him and will return to him. Praise the Lord forever! Amen.  (Romans 11:33-36) 

If we are used to measuring things, such as the length of something, or the content within a particular container, after a while we all can pretty much eyeball something and tell just about how much is in that container or how long the object is.  Why?  We become so accustomed to the container or the object we are measuring we just know when we see it. It has to do with how frequently we observe that object. There are things I "know" because I have observed them over and over again until I developed an awareness.  I wonder if we can get to know God's ways of dealing in our lives in much the same manner and develop this "knowing" which helps us to be aware at any given moment when he is about to move, speak, challenge us?  I think it might just be possible we get to know him well enough we can appreciate his movement quicker. We might think we know things like God does, but let me just assure you - - - we have only begun to experience his wealth, appreciate his wisdom, and bask in his knowledge!

I think it is possible to get close enough to God's heart that we begin to understand his movement and interpret his actions a lot quicker or easier.  It is because of the frequency of contact we have with him - the multitude of opportunities we have to observe how he moves or acts - that we become "familiar" with these movements and actions. It isn't because we gain the "mind" of God and rise to his level of wisdom or knowledge - but we can see things through his eyes and begin to respond as he responds.  When we think of "measuring" something, we are usually speaking of the breadth, width, height, or capacity of that object. It is impossible to truly "measure" something which is limitless, endless, or without beginning or end! God's wealth, wisdom, and knowledge are simply limitless, endless, and without beginning or end!

In human terms, capacity is determined by ability. God's ability never changes - this is something we can never forget. His capacity never grows smaller, nor does it increase - it was and always will be limitless! Whenever we try to "box God in" by believing we have him all figured out in some way or another, he will certainly reveal himself far outside of that "box". Why? He doesn't want us to become so "accustomed" to his movements or actions in one area that we miss him totally when he moves or acts in a completely different one!

In life, some of what we receive isn't because we did much to obtain whatever we received, but we get all the benefits of whatever it is (God's wealth, wisdom, and knowledge) without having to do much to receive it. We employ life strategies by watching what others do. When we are walking with Jesus, we employ the knowledge he has, see the wisdom in the way he moves, and find the spiritual, emotional, and physical wealth in the actions he both takes and refrains from taking. We serve a limitless God - there is no end to his resources; no breadth to his love we can actually measure; no depth to his grace we can fathom; and no span to his reach we can possibly be outside of. Putting him in any "box" which says he has to operate in this way or that, perform this or that action, or just be here or there is just not going to help us to grow in our appreciation of his limitless power, grace, or love.  Just sayin!

He isn't a quitter, so neither are we

God remembered us when we were down. His love never quits. Rescued us from the trampling boot. His love never quits. Takes care of everyone in time of need. His love never quits. Thank God, who did it all. His love never quits. (Psalm 136:23-26)

We are reminded over and over again that God's love never quits - not less than twenty-six times in as many verses within this psalm. His - there is no other basis for our trust, nor our focus - it is him and him alone. Love - evident in nothing more revealing than his grace. NEVER - not just when the urge strikes him, but each and every time we need to see, feel, or experience it in some manner. Quits - as impossible as it is for God to lie, it is equally impossible for him to withhold his love from us. It is good to be reminded of things we have a tendency to forget, isn't it? Our mind wanders and finds distraction in the most unlikely places, all the while setting us up to forget who it is we have placed our trust in and to begin to fear whatever it is we face at the moment. 

God cannot forget us. His focus is not like ours - it is unlimited and without error. Forgetting can be accidental or intentional on our part, so we think God must have that same inability to always remember what he promises, or that he will choose to forget a promise. Scripture doesn't ever say God has "selective remembering" when it comes to us. It says he "cannot" forget us - not that he chooses to not forget us but finds it impossible to go against his character by not having us in his focus 24/7. God isn't just there for us in the "up" times. We go through ups and downs in our emotions and in every other sense - physical, relationship rollercoasters, and in our own thoughts about self or others. We have a tough time consistently recalling his love is always with us. His love is what is there for us when we are down, as much as when we are on top of the world.

Destructive forces cannot keep his love from reaching out to us. We are invaded by all manner of distracting and destructive thought. His love reaches beyond those forces and isn't going to cower when they come but it will reach out to us to lift us away from those forces. I remember being lifted over the yard fence which separated the neighbor's yard from ours as a small child. The storms of summer would come, bringing loud thunder which frightened me terribly. The flashes of lightening could have taken me down in an instant. As the storms raged, I came to count on one thing - the reaching arms of my mother. God's arms reach even farther than my mom's ever did - so why doubt, why fear, why panic? No one escapes his view. His vantage point sees ALL need - not just the loudest or most urgent, but all need. His love can be counted on to counteract our need - regardless of how big or small - they are his to manage and to fulfill. His love - based in grace - never fails. He never falls short. He never attempts and then comes up short. His grace is ever reaching, his love never failing. Chew upon that one today as you begin to think your issues are too small, or your need is too great. His love NEVER fails. Just sayin!

NEVER easy - but worthwhile

But the Lord has always loved his followers, and he will continue to love them forever and ever! He will be good to all their descendants, to those who are faithful to his agreement and who remember to obey his commands. (Psalm 103:17-18)

God's part - love us. Our part - obey him. Seems pretty easy, but it has presented more challenges for God's people down through the ages that we can shake a stick at! Why is obedience so hard? If we really want to be obedient to ALL that God asks of us, not just the 'easy stuff', then we need to understand obedience is a struggle of the will. Pride gets all balled up in the mess, as well. We want things to go the easiest way possible, don't we? Whenever something doesn't quite go as we hoped, do we bail? Do we double-down and put extra effort into it? Most of us find ourselves facing the difficulties of obedience with a bit of prideful will - we want it our way, but our way isn't always God's way.

I am so glad God's action of loving us isn't based upon our performance or the speed at which we 'come around' to doing things the way he asks us to do them! If it was, we'd all be doomed. God loved when not even one of us deserved that love. In fact, nothing we 'do' makes God love us anymore than he already does. The steps toward total obedience require us to look at the commitment required at each 'level' and weigh out if we are willing to do whatever is required. For me, God's requirement was that I lay down some things and then do some others. I didn't realize how much some of the things I was 'doing' were actually moving me further into compromise in my life. 

When he asked me to stop engaging in those activities or actions, he also asked me to begin others that I wasn't all that comfortable with. Sometimes God asks us to do things that are 'foreign' to us, like spend time in his Word, actually reading it, taking it in, journaling about what we have read, beginning to feed upon it ourselves instead of always being 'hand-fed' by someone else who has digested it for us. He may ask us to step into areas of ministry that we might not have seen as 'our calling' in life, such as working in the church nursery during one church service and attend a different service time in order that mothers and fathers can attend without the struggle of taking care of a wee one's needs.

God may ask us to begin to talk with each other about things that have been hard for us to deal with, such as relationship issues that have brought rifts or less than close feelings for each other. Being open to doing what he tells us to do when we don't think we have done anything to cause the rift is one of the hardest things. Why? Pride gets in the way of us seeing the value of the relationship over the 'value' of holding onto the wrongdoing or hurtful actions of another. Obedience is almost NEVER easy, but it comes with some of the greatest blessings we could ever want - especially the one that starts and ends with being loved by God! Obedience starts 'in God's love' and it ends 'in God's love'. We lay down our will because we are loved by him - we take up his will because we want to show our love in return. Just sayin!

A tended ember glows brightly

For love is as strong as death, its jealousy as enduring as the grave. Love flashes like fire, the brightest kind of flame. Many waters cannot quench love, nor can rivers drown it. (Song of Solomon 8:6-7)

"Love has no age, no limit; and no death." (John Galsworthy) When I was in Bible College, one of the professors asked us to take time to write down some ideas about what we believed love to be - actions of love, thoughts it evoked, and even the emotions it evoked. It was a pretty interesting lesson as all of us 'scholarly' students put forth our best effort to come up with the 'best' definition of love. As we shared our ideas in the classroom that day, I recall how each of us came up with some of the same 'pat answers', while others had gone much deeper, their answers revealing just how much they understood the depth and breadth of love. Love is a very 'strong' emotion that evokes even stronger actions. It was apparent to me that I had only touched the surface of understanding and exhibiting love. 

Love is as strong as death - enduring beyond the absence we say makes the heart yearn for it time and time again. It comes in starts and fits, lingers a bit at times, making us feel very special, and then we find we must move on a bit in our relationship in order to find new ways to explore its depths. No greater love than this - isn't that what God said about his son? No greater love than that a man lay down his life for another - ponder the determination and depth of commitment required for that one. It is indeed true - love endures when we don't think it will survive, grows when it seems like there is nothing but dryness all around, and it lingers long after the grave has called a loved one home.

Love is the brightest kind of flame. If you have ever looked at a flame closely, you see it flickers - kind of growing at times, then becoming a bit smaller at others. Human love is kind of like that flame - it grows, giving off a warm glow, then it ebbs a bit, requiring something to rejuvenate its glow once again. As we know, oxygen fuels the flame at the end of the candle - take it away and the flame will no longer burn. As the flame flickers and goes out, there is that tiny ember you can see glowing deep within the place where that flame had once been. That ember can be fanned again - bringing forth light once more. Just as human love needs a lot of 'tending', God's love needs a lot of 'rekindling' within our hearts because we have a tendency to ignore the flame until it nothing more than an ember. 

When we realize God's love no limit and no death, we also understand the 'embers' of his love will always be ready to be reignited when there is attention given to 'tending' that flame once again. Some of us need to 'tend the flame' a bit in our relationship with others and probably even within our relationship with God. God's love is a bright flame that can never go out, but sometimes the ember needs a bit of 'tending' in order for us to experience that brightness once again. Just sayin!

Experience his love

So, friends, we can now—without hesitation—walk right up to God, into “the Holy Place.” Jesus has cleared the way by the blood of his sacrifice, acting as our priest before God. The “curtain” into God’s presence is his body. So let’s do it—full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out. Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:19-25)

Any delay due to uncertainty of mind or fear - that state of doubt - will keep us from fully embracing all that God has for us. How many times do we simply avoid doing something just because of our fear or apprehension? If we were honest, it may be more than we would admit. We avoid saying something when we feel impressed to do so, or don't act on what we know simply because we are reluctant to take that first step. We are fearful of what others will think, or how those steps will affect us. Procrastination is the delayed action; hesitation is the uncertainty which sometimes is the cause of the delay. This hesitation can keep us from some pretty awesome stuff God has planned for us. Stop hesitating and just come into the fullness of what God has planned for those who are bold enough (not overtaken by fear or doubt) to walk straight into his presence and spend some time getting to know him!

We find the invitation to enter boldly into what Christ accomplished by his sacrificial death. If we were to read the two chapters just prior to this one, we'd see Christ's death accomplished the end to the old ways of worship and the beginning of the new. What had been off-limits because of our inability to "clean up" our own sin under the "old" was totally declared "full access" under the new because Christ performed the "clean up" of our sin with the shedding of his blood on our behalf. If such a provision is made on our behalf, then why are we so hesitant to enter into the fullness of all God has designed for us? It might be fear, or even unbelief, but regardless of the "reason", none stands in the face of the truth that we are declared righteous in Christ Jesus. We are made righteous in Christ Jesus. We stand righteous in Christ Jesus. We cannot diminish our righteousness because in Christ Jesus we are fully and totally righteous!

Many of us spend a great deal of time being presentable on the outside. Each morning, we spend countless minutes in front of the mirror, grooming, applying this or that, putting each hair into place. Why is it we spend so much time on the outward appearance and almost forget to spend any time in the Word, prayer, or just simple worship? Maybe it is because we think what can be "seen" is what gives people the impression we have life together even when we are falling apart on the inside! What is on the inside, receiving frequent care and tender touches from Jesus will eventually trump whatever is on the outside! We can count on the faithfulness of God regardless of our behavior, although it may not be as consistent as it should be - he is consistent. His love extends beyond our inconsistencies, but to really "come into" that love we have to push past our hesitation and enter into his presence. Any delay on our part is often just because of our misperceptions - we don't understand how much God has done on our behalf to ensure we have full access to him and can boldly enter into his presence. Know what has been promised and then stand on it unwaveringly. Believe with all your ability that God does what he says. We may have learned to NOT trust because trust has been violated by some person in our lives. Truth is, God cannot lie - it is against his nature. It is impossible for him to not fulfill his promises because that would be equivalent to him telling a lie.

Encouragement by others helps us develop this comfort of entering into all God has for us. Recognize our boldness is affected by the company we keep. Those who can spur us on are invaluable to helping us enter into all God has for us - moving us beyond our hesitation and into a place of bold, bounding, trusting faith. We all need to be "inventive" in our encouragement - through loving actions and sacrificial deeds. We don't encourage each other to gain access to God - we engage in demonstrating God's love so others will develop a boldness to enter into the fullness of his love themselves. There is no room for hesitation in us experiencing God's love. We are beckoned into his love, provided a means by which we might enter into his love, and then we are given encouragement of others to help us maintain our consistency in experiencing his love. Isn't it about time we enter into what God has taken such great pains to prepare on our behalf? Just askin!

Exist, live, occupy

So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture: They kill us in cold blood because they hate you. We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one. None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us. (Romans 8:32)

When God asks me what I think about something, I give it a moment before I answer him. Why? My answers are usually a bit self-centered - I see them from my perspective FIRST, then I consider them from the opposite side of the relationship. Yet, God wants us to know it is okay for us to consider things from 'our side' of the relationship - he delights in us being that open and honest with him. God put everything on the line for us just so we could have that openness and freedom to be ourselves with him. More importantly, he wants us to get to know who we are apart from Christ as well as who we are in Christ. Why? When we see the bigger picture of what God does IN us and what he has done FOR us, we draw just a bit closer into the safety of his protective arms. Nothing living or dead - high or low - nor what we can imagine in our minds can ever replace the safety we experience when we draw up close to Jesus as he draws up close to us. 

That said, I know the struggle some have with actually 'feeling safe' because they have lived a good deal of their lives in 'unsafe relationships'. It isn't all that easy to just 'feel safe' when all you have known is a pretty harsh, antagonistic time within relationships. We might have come to realize that God draws us closer and closer - even when we seem to resist that closeness. Why? Nothing can ever separate us from his love - even our feelings of mistrust! We have been and are being embraced by his love - period! Feelings will follow - mistrust will fall away - but first we need to begin to just allow him to be close. A dog that has been abused will shiver and shake, cowering away into a corner when approached. Why? It doesn't 'feel safe' around those who resemble the abuser. If you can hear one thing today, hear this - God is love and his love is extended over and over again UNTIL you come to the place where you actually begin to trust it as genuine and just for you!

I frequently remind myself that feelings are a bit fickle - likely to change, unstable, and not at all reliable. I may not 'feel' loved one day, but the next the feelings are quite different. Did God's love change toward me based upon the circumstances of the day or something I did / didn't do? Not at all. His love was as consistent today as it was yesterday - my feelings toward that love just changed once again. If we could learn to appreciate love as more than just feelings, we might come to rely upon what we know and trust with our minds and see demonstrated on a continual basis more than we rely upon our feelings. God's love is consistent - our appreciation and apprehension of his love is what changes. We come to trust as we lean in - not counting on our feelings to guide us so much - experiencing the freedom to just BE with him. BE implies existing, living, occupying a space different than the one previously occupied. Isn't this what love does? It brings into existence, causes one to live, and then draws one into places of safety like one has never known before. Just sayin!

The two wings

Death and love are the two wings that bear the good man to heaven. (Michelangelo)

Michelangelo may have a portion of this 'going to heaven' thing correct, but I know the only death that really mattered was Christ's. The only thing that draws us all into his arms is his intense love for each of us. So, it is indeed a death and some pretty amazing love that bears us to heaven...but...none of us are 'good men' or 'good women' without Christ. So, even the goodness of mankind is reliant upon the love of God!

“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. (John 3:16-18)

God didn't send Christ to earth just to have him experience all the things we experience in our lifetime, but it certainly made the connection a little more 'real' to some of us, didn't it? God didn't reach out to a hurting and mixed-up group of sinners just out of curiosity - as an experiment in human nature designed to see how we'd respond to his intense love. God knew his love would be a little foreign to us - because we don't actually fully understand love without conditions. 

The good news is that he came. He lived his life on this earth, making that earthly connection with us, and now he sits at the right hand of his heavenly Father, carefully drawing each and every one of us into his loving arms. Can we resist his love? You betcha! Have we probably done that on occasion? Likely so, but hopefully we don't do it too often, or for too long. Is his love drawing us closer to our heavenly home? Yes, and as we feel his arms bear us up each day, we are drawn closer and closer into his presence. We may not need to experience death to experience life. Just sayin!

Snow on the roof

Is there a difference between the God you serve today and the one you served in your youth? Some might be quick to admit they 'feel' as though there is a difference, but he is the same God! It is our relationship with him that has changed - our perspective has changed. We see him differently because of all that we have been through with him over the years, but he remains consistently the same. I think we interpret his love differently, appreciate his presence deeper, and relish his comfort more. Our 'age' has placed us in a different 'frame of mind' as it comes to seeing, appreciating, and enjoying the work of God in our lives.

Even when you are old I will be the same. And even when your hair turns white, I will help you. I will take care of what I have made. I will carry you, and will save you. (Isaiah 46:4)

Even when you are old...

I guess it goes without saying that with each new day dawning on the horizon, we are getting just a little bit older. We aren't guaranteed the 'new dawn', but when it comes, we breathe in a new day and begin to take 'action' with what we have been given in that day. In my youth and exuberance to conquer the world, I remember taking very little time to appreciate the dawn. In my older age, I actually relish the sunrise. I observe the awakening of the world around me as light begins to filter into dark places little by little, life seemingly returning to the world. Appreciate the day you are given, my friends, for you are not sure what tomorrow will bring.

When we are old, he remains the same...

He was there to help us in our youth, he will be there to help us in our old age. He takes care of what he has made along the entire spectrum of that life. It is actually you and I that seem to go 'in and out' of the awareness of his presence with us, his protection over our lives, and his power manifest when we were powerless in circumstances totally outside of our control. He isn't going 'in and out' of our lives. In fact, he is the 'constant' that keeps us centered, makes us whole when life chips away at us, and brings us into perfect peace when all around us is determined to keep us tossing to and fro.

Even when your hair turns white...

He will help us. I imagine we need his help as much in our youth as we do in our old age, but we don't usually learn to appreciate his help as much in our youth. I think we stop to take notice as we age - to consider and ponder just a little more. I think we allow ourselves to let go of some of the stuff that occupied so much space in our minds, leaving us room to consider him just a little bit more. We 'make space' for him because we have learned his ways are much more reliable than our own. We trust his movement in our lives because we have seen where his steps lead. 

Some view old age as a thing to be feared - I view it as a time when God gets just a little closer. It isn't that he ever was 'far away', but we now begin to recognize just how close he has been all along. We find greater comfort in knowing he is there - perhaps because our own strength begins to wane a little, making us much more appreciative of how much we need his strength. Snow on the roof doesn't mean we are slowing down in our love for Jesus - it often means we are just learning to be comfortable snuggling into his arms a little bit more. Just sayin!

Are you broken-hearted?

"Only the broken-hearted know the truth about love." (Mason Cooley)  They say to have loved and lost is far better than to have never even attempted to understand or participate in love at all.  Love is a "messy" kind of thing - sometimes quite a pleasant "mess" and at others kind of devastating to the heart.  I don't think most of us humans actually understand the love of God, though.  We make a pretty feeble attempt to actually understand the breadth, width, and depth of that unfathomable love, but in essence the closest we ever come to understanding his love is to receive it in the first place.  The most profound thing about God's love is not that he is interested in loving those who have "perfect love", but those who are already pretty "broken" in their ability or willingness to love themselves, others, and him!

Some people became fools infected by their rebellious ways, and sickness followed because of their sins.  Afflicted and weak, they refused any sort of food as they approached the gates of death.  In their distress, they called out to the Eternal, and He saved them from their misery.  He gave the order and healed them and rescued them from certain death.  May they erupt with praise and give thanks to the Eternal in honor of His loyal love and all the wonders He has performed for humankind!  Let them present to Him thanksgiving sacrifices
and tell stories of His great deeds through songs of joy.  (Psalm 107:17-22 VOICE)

To walk alone is to know misery and even a little bit of contempt.  Misery because we are enduring our own company; contempt because we will eventually come to realize our own flesh as pretty vile when left to the devices it can imagine or concoct.  We become fools infected by our rebellious ways when left to our own devices - we challenge what we know we should not challenge, engage in what we clearly know will bring us harm, and even experiment with what we know will not end well.  As I was growing up, there was a book made quite popular among the self-help gurus entitled, "I'm Okay, You're Okay".  It was as though the world was trying to find a way to "accept" all the idiosyncrasies of our poor, fallen character - all those things which "make us the way we are".  The book's author wanted to give people a way to dig deep into their thoughts, experiencing the "meaning" behind them, in the end coming to some realization of those deeply hidden memories.  It was proposed putting "meaning" to those memories would make us "whole" or better individuals.  Uhm...let me just say no "self-help" has ever made anyone of us whole - it is the love of God and his grace that does that!

The good news is that God accepts us the way we are - complete with all of our idiosyncrasies and quirks.  He doesn't love us less because we have them, but if it were possible, I'd imagine he might even love us a little more (but God's love is perfect, so I don't think that it possible).  Grace is based on love and need.  No one seeks grace unless there is a recognized need for it.  For example, as a kid I might have asked mom to forgive me for arriving home late from school because my teacher kept me behind to discuss a project I wanted to work on for science fair.  The "grace" I wanted was because I didn't adhere to the "curfew" set for arriving home.  I knew I needed it - so I sought it.  The amazing thing about God's grace is that even before we realize we need it, it has been extended to us - reaching out to us even when our behavior isn't quite recognized as "requiring" grace!

If what Cooley says is true, then we are indeed made aware of God's love not because we somehow "discover it", but because our need reveals it to us.  Love is understood by those whose heart has been broken by the things life sends our way - the things of our own making as well as those which come as a matter of others doing things which affect us.  The broken-hearted are God's "fertile soil" - he place where his grace can take root.  The moment we realize the devastated condition of our heart, the door opens wide for his love to enter to do what no other "repair" work can do.  We might try to shore up the gaps sin leaves in our lives on our own, but the truth is that grace is the only thing which reliable and consistently bridges those gaps.  Without grace, we continue in our rebellion.  Without grace, we wander aimlessly.  Without grace, we do not ever experience love in the truest and purest form. Just sayin!

Let love settle in...

So many times we focus on the "do not" phrases in scripture as the means by which we should live our lives - the boundaries we are supposed to live within. I am not saying that is necessarily the worst way to look at things, but there is a different take on the matter - we could just live by the one "do" statement which really summarizes all those "do not" ones! I think the "do not" ones are there because we need "concrete" evidence of what is "allowable" versus "disallowed" in this Christian walk.  It isn't as though the "do not" instructions don't matter - they do make it pretty clear for us to know when we are crossing the line.  Yet, if we hear what Jesus taught, it is the one "do" statement which really captures all the others in their entirety.  The do statement? "Love the Eternal One your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind. Love your neighbor as yourself."  Okay, so maybe you see them as two separate statements - but they really are one - for when we love God in such a way, it is only natural for us to begin to love others in this manner, as well.

The commands given to you in the Scriptures—do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not take what is not yours, do not covet—and any other command you have heard are summarized in God’s instruction: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Does love hurt anyone? Absolutely not. In fact, love achieves everything the law requires. (Romans 13:9-10 VOICE)

Love achieves everything the law requires - nothing is left "undone" when love is at the core of our thoughts and actions.  Paul taught the Corinthian believers to be aware of the beliefs of the other person who may be watching your actions.  Just because the liberty you find in Christ to do something with a clear conscience may be okay for you, you must be considerate of the feelings and perceptions of the other person who views you doing it.  For example, if you are with a recovering alcoholic, ordering wine at dinner for yourself may not be the "kindest" nor "wisest" thing to do. Why?  You didn't order a glass for him, did you?  No, yet you are placing a reminder in front of him of how great the struggle is for him to remain sober.  We aren't exactly being loving in our actions at that point - so being conscious of the struggles, attitudes, and needs of another is at the core of what Jesus wants for each of us.

Paul also went on to share what love is and is not - why? He knew we would get this messed up if we didn't have a little clarity around the subject!  When he tells us love is patient and kind, it isn't one-sided, either.  Love is two-sided - one being as patient to the other as he expects the other to be toward him when patience is needed most.  I probably struggle with this one a little more than "love doesn't celebrate injustice" or "love doesn't tally wrongs". Patience when someone is really not acting wisely, or asks you the same thing over and over again is kind of hard. Yet, they may not even know they are doing something for which patience is needed. We all have our little "spots" in life where we struggle to live out our "love" in a positive way.  I think this is why Jesus focused on "love" so much - he knew if we could get this right, everything else would follow.  Love begins with God, enters into us within the person of Christ, and then is to be lived out in us as we allow the image of Christ to become the the dominant force within us.

If you didn't catch that, I will say it again - all we need to live a life according to the "rules" or "commands" laid out in scripture is to allow the love of God to enter into us fully and begin to change us from the inside out.  God's love is doing the work of helping us to become loving individuals - by embracing all the unlovable stuff within us, transforming it by the power of his grace, and then allowing that love to leak out into the lives of others who need it as desperately as we do.  This is probably why Paul teaches that love fulfills all the law - if it begins to affect all of our life, then all of our life will begin to emanate that love in our thoughts, attitudes, and actions.  For some of us, love is not an easy subject to latch onto - because we haven't been loved well, we have been told we don't matter or are unlovely, or maybe we just have told ourselves no one could possibly love us because we are this way or that.  Love isn't understood in the mind - it is interpreted in the actions of another on our behalf.  This is why God connected us to his love through the actions of his Son!  He knew we would only understand the intensity of his love through the intensity of those sacrificial actions.

Instead of trying to "not do" this or that, maybe we'd be better served to begin to just allow God's love to settle into the places of our lives where we struggle the most.  Just sayin!

A waterfall lesson or two

There is a song which has been running through my head all night.  I often awake with a tune of some sorts just running over and over in my mind.  It isn't that I am all that musically inclined, but I think it is my desire to praise God with my life which gives me this song deep within.  As I rehearsed the lines over and over, something began to speak to me from those few words of the song.  Let me share the words of the song are from an album entitled "Love Ran Red" by Chris Tomlin.  The song is "Waterfall" and the words which kept "tumbling" in my head:  "Your love is like a waterfall, waterfall..."  The second remembered set of words from the song probably speak the loudest to me: "It's coming like a flood; I'm dancing in the rain.  Everything I've done is covered in rivers of grace...Amazing".  Those who have followed me for a while know I truly think there is nothing more amazing in this life than grace!  Grace is given when least deserved, cannot be earned no matter how hard you try, and is meaningless until it is embraced and allowed to embrace you.  Chris Tomlin's words in his song began to speak to me afresh last night - why?  I think it was because God wanted me to be reminded again of his great love and how it is a place of safety, refreshing, and life.   

But I am like an olive tree growing in God’s house, and I can count on his love forever and ever. (Psalm 52:8 CEV)

Why a waterfall?  Why was that the focus of the words which kept coming to mind?  I thought a while on the things I know about waterfalls and those which I have seen in my travels.  I have been deafened by their roar, refreshed by their far-flung mist, and amazed at the brilliance of their cascading beauty.  Maybe this is why I reflected upon these words for so long - they pointed me to the very things I appreciate about my Lord and Savior!  His voice is clear and consistent.  He refreshes me in times of dryness and fatigue.  He gives beauty where there is only barrenness.  In the words of this song, his love is like waterfall - running wild and free.  That is how God's love comes into our lives - wild and free.  It invigorates, restores, and sounds afresh the tunes of his majesty deep within the recesses of our souls.

Some lessons from the waterfalls I have observed:

- They cascade downward.  I haven't seen a waterfall yet which flows upward!  If we consider for just a moment all that we know about God's love, a waterfall might just be the image which gives us a moment to consider the awesomeness of a love which continually flows downward toward us.  His love flows from his throne into the very recesses of our lives - it flows toward us and draws us into its refreshing flow.

- They create a distinctive noise.  As the waters cascade downward, the noise created can sometimes be deafening, while it is quite alluring to the senses.  There is something about that noise which draws us in - we are moved toward it, not away from it.  Even the great Niagara Falls, with their deafening roar will draw in millions each year.  The sound of his voice is awe-inspiring, but it draws us in and enthralls us with its majesty.

- They run clear and clean.  I have observed the beauty of the waterfall, clear, crisp waters cascading from heights far above me.  Even the smaller falls seem to cascade their beauty in the crisp and clear waters which come tumbling down toward the grounds below.  The white color of the falls remind me of the purity of God's voice - clear, clean, and crisp.  

- They often are not fully contained.  As the waters tumble downward, the mists of water which drift out from the falling water as it cascades and tumbles along the course rocks it encounters can be felt often many, many feet away from those falls.  That mist not only refreshes, it gives life to the things drawn into its path.

- They don't freeze over and stop flowing in winter season.  In fact, the falls continue to run deep beneath the snowy cover and icy flow which may develop as a "crust" upon the top of the falls.  Deep within, the falls continue their downward cascade, bringing life even in the seasons of deepest freeze. This speaks to me about never considering things as "barren" and "lifeless" wherever God's love is free-flowing.

- They often are a shelter.  Behind those great tumbling waters, there are often spaces carved out which provide the most optimum shelter - almost unobserved by many.  The secret place within the falls is home to those who will take shelter there - but it is a shelter one must find in order to enjoy! 

God's love is like a waterfall - tumbling free.  His grace is cascading downward - for you and me. God's love envelopes the weak - making new the heart and lifting high the spirit of a fallen soul. Consider the majesty of that love and walk deeply into the secret place he has prepared for you in the waterfall of his love today!  You will find joy in its flow.  Just sayin!

Beyond and above

There are lots of metaphors in scripture, oftentimes not appreciated because we don't stop long enough to take time to actually let them sink in.  A metaphor is something used to describe something else.  When we say God is our fortress, we aren't saying he is a stone building erected with stone, mortar, and protective walls.  We are simply giving a word picture of his strength, security, and place of safe-keeping.  Whenever we refer to God as our shield, we are giving a word picture of one who wards off the blows from our enemies and protects our most vulnerable parts.  To many, word pictures speak much - to others, they are simply glossed over as some nice, frilly way to describe something, but they need something much more "concrete" because their brains don't stop to delight in word pictures.  Perhaps this is why God uses both in scripture - the word picture and the direct, to point out the truth. As we explore scripture, getting to know our God as the main point - how this is accomplished is as varied as the various "pictures" we see of him in these pages!

Your love reaches higher than the heavens; your loyalty extends beyond the clouds. May you, my God, be honored above the heavens; may your glory be seen everywhere on earth. (Psalm 57:10-11 CEV)

David is in a cave, surrounded by mighty men of military might.  They had hotly pursued him day and night, in hopes of trapping him so they could end his life.  All this because of the orders of their superior, King Saul.  They were to seek and destroy - because David was a threat to King Saul's continued rule on the throne in Israel.  Interesting how our pride motivates us to some pretty ridiculous actions, isn't it?  We find ourselves acting in ways quite contrary to the way we should and whenever we do, the truth about who and what we really serve is revealed!  The coolness, hardness, and darkness of Saul's heart was being revealed.

Yet in the midst of the coolness and darkness of the cave into which David clamored for protection from the pursuit, David find a song bubbling up from his heart.  Interesting how one person's coldness, hardness, and darkness gives birth to all kinds of evil imaginings and another's gives birth to a greater trust in God and an expression of simple hope.  I wonder what is revealed about our hearts in the midst of the cool and dark places?  Maybe this is another metaphor given to us to reveal just how much God is with us even when the "place" we are in seems to be "hallow", "without escape", and "uncertain".  I don't know about you, but most of the caves I have explored are dark, cold, and a little more confining than I would be comfortable in for a long, long time!

David's heart turns to his Lord.  In response to his depth of trust in the delivering grace of God, he begins to allow his heart to well-up with words of praise and honor to the one he loves so greatly.  He begins with the testimony of God's "bigger than life" love and his faith in God's grace being what will reveal to the world around him the reality of God's goodness and glory.  Higher than the heavens.  I don't have the knowledge to fully grasp that one, but I do know the heavens go on and on and on, kind of without end!  So David's reference to the love of God being higher than the heavens, he is simply saying it is so vastly different from human love that it almost is immeasurable.  Human love is conditional - based on something we do for another.  God's love is unconditional - and as such it is almost immeasurable.

God's loyalty extends beyond the clouds.  The introduction of air travel wasn't even a concept when David penned these words, so perhaps we over-simplify this when we think about it, because we can rise above the clouds in our planes of today.  Yet, as David considered the heavens and the things contained in them, he references God's love and loyalty.  Clouds were a sign of what?  Impending weather change?  Incoming storms?  In those days, I'd have to say it was.  When he says God's loyalty (his intense commitment to keep each and every one of his promises) reached beyond the clouds.  In other words, come what might, God's commitment to keep David secure reached beyond the impending storms of life, and that commitment was not altered by the storm!

We might not sit to ponder the heights of heaven or the extent of God's loyalty toward us very often, but when we do, we might just draw the same conclusions!  Just sayin!