Love

Happy Friday Friends!

I hope & trust this post finds you all having a great day on this beautiful, soggy, day on the Texas Gulf Coast.

Have you ever wondered what your purpose in life is? Most of us have. It was very profound to me several months back when reading a book - I am sorry, I don't recall which one - and the author stated quite simply our purpose in life is to love God and to love people. Since that time I have heard several pastors say the same thing. Luke 10: 25 - 27 tells us:

"On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 

"What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?" 

He answered, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 

"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."

Go figure!! All this time I was trying to figure out, "Am I supposed to be a football coach?", "Am I supposed to be an athletic administrator?" or "Am I supposed to be a development professional?" I am pretty sure God doesn't care what we do vocationally, He simply wants us to love Him and love the people He has placed in our lives in whatever professional capacities we serve. It was a "Wow!" moment for me, perhaps for you too.

So what does this look like? 1 John 3: 18 tells us this:

"Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth."

Ah, I see. Love is a verb. I can tell anyone and everyone that I love them - very simply, not much cost involved. But when we get down in the mud and do life with them, when we really love on them, we are walking this out. This is what we are called to do, to love people - action involved.

Right now I am reading the book Crazy Love: Overwhelmed By A Relentless God by Francis Chan. I want to share an excerpt with you, along with a challenge. Francis writes:

"God's definition of what matters is pretty straightforward. He measures our lives by how we love. In our culture, even if a pastor doesn't actually love people, he can still be considered successful as long as he is a gifted speaker, makes his congregation laugh, or prays for "all those poor, suffering people in the world" every Sunday.

But Paul writes that even if "I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing" (1 Cor. 13:2-3 ESV). Wow. Those are strong and unmistakable words. According to God, we are here to love. Not much else really matters.

So God assess our lives based on how we love. But the word love is overused and worn out. What does God mean by love? He tells us, "Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends...faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love" (1 Corinthians 14:4-8, 13 ESV

But even these words have grown tired and overly familiar, haven't they?

I was challenged to do a little exercise with these verses, one that was profoundly convicting. Take the phrase Love is patient and substitute your name for the word love. (For me, "Francis is patient...") Do it for every phrase in the passage.

By the end, don't you feel like a liar? If I am meant to represent what love is, then I often fail to love people well."

So how about it Friends, you up for the challenge? The Haslam family did this last week, promising one another that we would read it each day this past week. I will make it easy for you...here you go (simply write your name in the blanks):

____________  is patient and kind; ____________ does not envy or boast;

____________ is not arrogant or rude. _____________ does not insist on his/her own

way; ________________ is not irritable or resentful; ________________ does not

rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. ________________ bears all things,

believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. _________________ never

ends...faith, hope and __________________ abide, these three; but the greatest of these

is _________________.

Challenging? Aspirational? Convicting? Yes, yes & yes!!! That's o.k., we aren't called to be perfect. We are simply called to love God and love people. When we do these things in this order God will take care of the rest. Suddenly, perhaps surprisingly to us, we will find ourselves being patient and kind, not envious or boastful, etc. Please remember Friends, the changing of hearts - yours & mine included - is the work of God, not man. 

Please don't hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you. I will always help you any way I can. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinfluencebe.com.

Have a great day, a wonderful weekend and please cherish your precious families.

Kev