Love and Yes
We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19
When God calls you to himself, when you begin to follow Jesus, when you become a Christian you are — the Bible — tells us “a new Creation.” How are we to live as new creations? Many people get this wrong, isolating themselves from people who believe differently then they do, being antagonistic to people and ideas. How are we to hold ourselves then in a world that is not our home? Jesus says the short answer is to hold ourselves in a posture of love, to ask, regardless of the circumstances, “am I acting out of love?”
Immersed In Love
That sounds really nice. But how do we do that? Do we just go around telling everyone we love them? No. Obviously. It is deeper than that. We love because God first loved us — so the first step is to soak yourself in that reality, immerse yourself in God’s love for you and you will have the courage to actually love people who otherwise you might find unlovable.
What are you doing to immerse yourself in God’s love?
Are you setting aside time to do so?
Consider setting aside time and reading Life of the Beloved, a great resource for soaking in God’s love.
While you are at it, come join us as we spend an hour or so praying together and walking around the Creekside Campus, praying for the God to bless our space as we use it to grow in him, to be trained, to worship him and then for it to be a launching pad to send us out as agents of love and restoration in the world. We’d like everybody there for this important event: Friday, August 14, 7:30 PM
Lessons from Improv
Once immersed in love we move out in love. We look at the world, we look at those we come in contact with, first with love, seeing them as they are — people made in the image of God — and looking for ways to say yes, to affirm the creative essence of them.
Improv comedy is unscripted — like life. The improv team takes a premise a citation a challenge and simply engages in that and the result is that a story is birthed. The first rule of impov is to “Say yes,” to start from an open-minded place, to look for common ground. Say Yes is a more as a posture that is opposed to the “Always correct,” “Always say no.” Start with a YES and you will be amazed at the places it takes you that no does not. Start with yes, start with love, be the gospel of Jesus in your world and be amazed how folks are irresistibly drawn to the love of Jesus they see in you.
Peace, hope and love Doug
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