Love

Every few months I get to be evaluated by my leadership. I was asked to prepare a few things entering into the evaluation. One of the things I got to share is what the Lord has taught me since starting my LeadTime journey. 

I have really been struggling to identify what the Lord has been teaching me, so I prepared the other questions and saved this question for last. After staring blankly at the paper for a time, I finally went to my journal and read all my entries since arriving in Branson in August. I was surprised, yet not, by what I found.

The Lord had been teaching me about love. 

This topic is so broad and in a blog it would be impossible to even attempt to sum it all up. However, the more I study the Word, and as I grow in relationship with God, the more I see that life is all about love. God sent Jesus to us out of His great love for us. Jesus expressed His love for the Father through His obedience to come to earth and to model love for us and was love. Jesus left the earth so He might send us the Counselor. Jesus left us with the Spirit of Truth. He guides unbeliever to Truth, then once we come to know the Truth, He then dwells our very being. We have the Spirit of Truth to lead us, guide us, and give us courage. He is the love indwelt in believers.

Matthew 22:36-40 says,  “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

While the two greatest commandments part is good too, I like what comes next—All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments. All the Law and the Prophets is basically all that was before Jesus. Love was the motivation behind all of the rules and the words the Lord spoke to His people through the prophets. If you see the law, or hear the words of the prophets, but you miss the love behind then you miss it entirely. The same is true today. If you accept God’s gift of grace through Jesus and accept the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, but you don’t love—you don’t get it. You have missed the point. If you follow a bunch of rules in an effort to please God but you leave out love—you’ve missed the heart of God.

During the entire three years I was in Korea the Lord had me in the book of 1 John. I would try to study other portions of Scripture, but He would always bring me back to 1 John. During my time in Korea, there were many a nights were I would literally lay in my bed wide awake and fear the coming of the Lord. I didn’t want Him to come because I was not living out my faith well. I was doing a lot of things, but much of the time it was in my own strength. I was striving and struggling and doing all these things to love God—or I felt like I should be doing more to love Him. Then one day, one of our students was leading chapel and he referenced a verse from 1 John. And in that moment the whispered in my ear, Love Me. I just want you to love me. During my time in Korea, my greatest fear was that I would get to heaven and the Lord would say to me, Get away from for I do not know you. This wasn’t a fear that I should earn his love through works, but more a fear that I would not know Him well enough. I John also talks about how perfect love casts out fear. didn’t need to work so hard at it. Yes, I was going to mess up. Yes, He desires for me to do things in His strength and not my own, etc. But really it all boils down to just loving Him. I don’t have to work so hard at it, but rest in it.

Anyhow, so I left Korea with this weight being lifted off of me and treasuring His precious words to me. Love Me. I just want you to love me. I have had these words in my mind a lot since returning to the States. So, when I think about it, it doesn’t surprise me that the Lord has been teaching me about love--resting in His love, loving Him, loving others.

I leave you with the following expert form 2 Peter. God also had me in the Peters a lot in Korea and I think this connects how I rest in His love, yet still walk out my faith and keep it all balanced and correct in my heart and my head. God spent my time in Korea, helping me to understand and engraving this truth upon my heart. 

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge; and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness; and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.