Love Makes Changes

When a baby is born, it undergoes a dramatic shift in circumstances. It was cocooned in a deluxe, temperature controlled environment, with twenty-four hour room service. Then, they get thrust out into the world. It’s cold. It’s windy. And getting food suddenly becomes a really big deal.

Eventually, the baby gets on a schedule. Food, sleep, and personal interaction get organized. Unfortunately, the baby’s schedule, and the parent’s schedule, are often out of sync.

A friend of mine remarked after his first children were born (they had twins) that he never realized how selfish he was, until he had kids. Caring for someone, who is totally dependent, and not flexible as to times and places, could make parents, who are used to more freedom, feel trapped. It could even lead to resentment. In today’s world, people do not seem to tolerate limits put on them. Especially from the outside.

But God so loved the world, that he limited himself by becoming human. He met our weakness, our failure, and our brokenness, and totally changed his behavior. He chose the extreme limits: capture, torture, and death.

Love chooses to modify its behavior to see someone else’s good occur. When offended, love chooses patience. When someone is in need, it surrenders time, energy, and resources. When someone succeeds, love rejoices. Love sees equals, supports weakness, expects success, and growth, and keeps giving.

Jesus calls us to live in the way of love. Jesus’s message and mission, accepting, and trusting, his way, and living in love can only flip the world on its head.

Intercession Everyone's Job

We are all designed by God. We are all given places in his mission to invite the world into his family. As we recently posted, there are a multitude of functions, and God has equipped someone to complete that function.

Some are given to act as an interface between God’s family, and the world. Some are given to maintain, and improve, the condition of God’s family. Some in physical areas. Some in relational areas. Some in character. All of these areas involve a spiritual component. That’s because all of life is connected to the Father. Especially within God’s family.

God’s family have accepted Father’s offer to unite in relationship., becoming his children. Sonship is not one simple thing. It is commitment to Father. It is a promise to live by his word. It is an invitation, and permission, for him to act in our lives. (And when he acts, it is always for our best.)

And some function to gain greater involvement of Father in the world, and in the lives of his family. (I called this “artillery spotting” in an earlier post.) It is easy for us to understand intercession in terms of evangelism. We want God to break lies, highlight truth, and generate clarification in the hearts of people, who have not yet chosen relationship with Father. (And I am not writing to minimize this type of prayer. Indeed, I would encourage more. Let us rain down spiritual artillery on Africa, Asia, the Middle East, India, London, Paris, New York, Los Angeles, and everywhere in between. Let all these places be pummeled with God’s greatness, goodness, kindness, and love. Let one billion, two billion, people chose to unite with Father in a single day.)

But let us also remember that God’s Spirit, and God’s love, needs to be where, and doing whatever, God’s family is dong. He needs to be with Reinhard Bonnke preaching to a million people in Nigeria. He needs to be with millions of people, giving money, and writing letters, to children, partnering with Compassion, and other organizations like it. He needs to be in millions of worship meetings around the world. He needs to be with every single person giving instruction, encouragement, counseling, mercy, or forgiveness. He needs to be with every person mowing the lawn, repairing, or maintaining, equipment in places, or on property, used by God’s family. And every single on of these situations ought to have someone spotting God’s artillery.

No one knows the tipping point, that releases the incense of heaven to cover the earth.

World Impact

Through the mail, TV, the internet, there are commercials about all types of works/ministries, doing all types of things … good things. Things we can work for, or give money to.

I am aware of a charity in East Africa formed to combat a parasite, that is prevalent there. Because many people go barefoot there, the parasite embeds itself in the soles of people’s feet. The parasite grows, lays eggs, and effected people have difficulty walking. So, they can’t work, or go to school.

The charity has clinics to remove the parasite, hygiene classes about prevention, and they give away shoes. People in the US cut the pattern for the uppers out of old blue jeans. The soles are made from old tires. The “raw materials,” and a little money, are sent to Africa, where the shoes are assembled. The money is used to pay people to assemble the shoes. Shoes, and a job.

I is amazing how a pair of shoes can transform a person’s life.

This is an example of one of a multitude of good things, people can do to positively effect the world. But did you ever feel like there was too much? There are a lot of things – honorable, beneficial, God-honorable, people loving, Every one of them insistent of your support. And there are some that you want to support, but can’t afford, are too far away, or without the necessary skills to help.

We do need to keep several things in mind. God does indeed have a mission in the world. But the mission is given to his family, who is also his army. And like a modern army, there are many roles: pilot (fight, bomber, rescue), mechanic (plane, truck, tank), infantry, cooks, doctors, and generals. And everyone needs to do their job to make the mission successful.

In God’s army, there is one main general, who is over the entire operation. And he gives each one their job. Sometimes, understanding one’s orders can be confusing. But each one does have a place. And it may not always seem so, but each place is vital, and important. Someone not doing their job leaves a gap in the line. The mission is hindered. And someone is not living as designed, and there is a loss of joy, and love, in the world. Most jobs are part of the Kingdom, but they may not be a formal part of the church.

And we need to remember that each, and every one, has direct access to the Commander in Chief, all day, every day. There is no time, day or night, that he is not available, able, and willing, to act on our behalf. Indeed, the most powerful weapon in this army’s arsenal is the General’s presence, act active involvement, in any particular phase of the battle. So, if someone has a heart for one particular 5 year old in Uganda, with foot parasites, he can call on the Commander. And the Commander can direct his attention, energy, and involvement, half-way around the world to that 5 year old. And the world’s love meter pegs to the maximum reading.

There ae some of God’s army, whose main job is “artillery spotting.” The call God’s attention, and involvement, to situations around the world. All of God’s family are given, in part, the job of artillery spotter. They may have another job, but his family needs to give much more attention to this part of their job.

Not only is it with prayer that we invite god into our lives, and into the situations we face, but some believe that God limits himself to act only if we pray. In other word, the all-powerful One, the One that nothing, and no one, can stop, puts limits on himself. He does nothing, unless it is in partnership with his people, who are praying.

There is a picture, in the last book of the Bible, of an altar in heaven. On the altar is a container of incense. Scripture says the incense is the prayers of the saints. God waits until the container is full, then he pours out the incense of heaven over the world. The aroma of heaven, the presence of God, fills the world, when his army prays.

I don’t know if it is proven that God never acts on his own initiative. But for his family to impact the world, two things need to happen. Each of God’s children need to fill their place. And each of god’s children need to invite God to be present, attentive, and active in every situation, as it presents itself.

Freedom. Maturity. Love.

Jesus died to complete all of God’s laws for us. We could not complete them, so he did it for us. So, we really do not need to be concerned about keeping the laws any longer.

But, again, that doesn’t mean Father is not concerned with how we live, and what we do. In Father’s original design, mankind was designed to be like Jesus. To love – because love fulfills the law – naturally, and instinctively.

Some recognize this, and live with a tremendous freedom. They live according to the Great Command – love God, and love people – and not sweat the rules churches set up.

There is the usual, unspoken, but expected church rule: attend the meetings. Scripture does say that it is good for God’s family to gather. People are designed to function as family, as community. There is benefit, and opportunity, to serve, to encourage, and to love. Those who are wiser, and more mature, can build into others. People were designed to love. Love needs givers, and receivers.

There are churches where one’s commitment, maturity, and life effectiveness are judged by the attendance chart. There are people, who judge their own worth to God by the attendance chart. Plus a host of other organizational rules.

I do not condemn organizations for having rules. Large numbers of people, sharing the same resources, and space, need something to direct traffic, maintain open lines of communication, and ensure that needs don’t get lost in the shuffle. But if God does keep a gradebook, I doubt any of these sorts of rules are recorded in it.

But there are people, who have given their allegiance to Jesus, genuinely, and truly, and believe that God expects them to keep these rules. And there are people in the same local family, who think that’s crazy. And thus, we have the potential for disunity, discord, and dis-harmony. What’s a body to do?

The mature, and the strong, must realize that love is on the top of God’s list. And unity is an important component of love in God’s family. So, it is up to them to love, and serve, those given to the minutiae of rules. And, by this love, all may grow in relationship to God and others, may grow in love, and may grow in understanding.

Again, organizations with lots of people may need rules to operate efficiently, and effectively. But keeping organizational rules, or cultural expectations, do not mean worth, or maturity, in God’s economy. Human worth is derived from God’s love of each person – demonstrated with the cross. Human maturity is derived from each person’s love of other people.

Love and Truth

It has been posted here, more than once, that God designed the universe. He designed all of its laws: physical, and chemical. And he designed people, and all the laws that affect them: biological, psychological, social, and spiritual.

Of all these laws, the strongest, and most important, is the law of love. There is too much Scripture indicating its importance, and its place as God’s family defining feature.

But there are other laws, that should be kept. All of these laws are also part of the definition of what people, and life, should be like. They are part of God’s design, and ideal life.

When the first people rebelled against God’s reign, there was only one law. People kept all of God’s law naturally, instinctively. Breaking the one law really wasn’t about the apple. (Or whatever fruit it was.) It was about trusting God, what he said, and his intentions toward us. It broke the relationship between God, and people.

Those, not in God’s family, often only see obedience to rules, that they probably don’t agree with, maybe not even understand, and no expression of love. (Love may have a different definition too. To Father, love is giving, and wanting the best for others. In the world, love may also be wanting the best, but it is the individual, who defines what is best. And everyone should accept, and tolerate that.)

Some in God’s family are also fixed on God’s laws. It can be a form of modern pharisaic philosophy, where Father’s approval comes from checking off boxes on a list. Jesus died, because no one can ever check off enough boxes.

So, what is the bottom line? Paul prays that God’s family might express more love — with greater time, energy, and resources — but expressed with greater insight, and understanding. Having a greater realization that God’s laws reflect God’s character, love is filtered through God’s word. But it should be recognized by the world as love, as God’s love. God expressed his love to draw the world into relationship — a loving, trusting relationship. Love, expressed through God’s word, should also draw people into relationship. Which also means relationship with God’s family. Expressing love, but living more in God’s image. Jesus gave love to the outcasts of society, but did not compromise God’s law. And he drew people to God. He motivated people to give love, trust, and allegiance to the Father, and to uniting with his family.