When three different people send you a copy of the same book in the same week, you take note. About a month ago Sara and I were able to start reading Love Does by Bob Goff. We have found it a delightful read as Bob shares his adventures in learning to live inside of love, both for himself and for others around him.
This one paragraph really caught my eye, because I think it is the essence of transformative love. You cannot know God’s kind of love without it changing you from the inside and finding yourself a freer, kinder person in the world, not because you have to but because you’re free to be the person Jesus made you to be:
“The cool thing about taking Jesus up on His offer is that whatever controls you doesn’t anymore. People who used to be obsessed about becoming famous no longer care whether anybody knows their name. People who used to want power are willing to serve. People who used to chase money freely give it away. People who used to beg others for acceptance are now strong enough to give love.”
That’s what love does. It reshapes us from the inside. You don’t learn to love by trying to change the way you feel about these things. Instead learning to live inside the love of God changes your value systems, often while you’re least aware it is going on. I am so enjoying the things that love is reshaping in me and I’m excited to see what it will yet change as I find myself valuing more what God values.
Someone also sent the this quote from the NPR show On Being by Omid Safi about busyness:
“This disease of being ‘busy’ (and let’s call it what it is, the dis-ease of being busy, when we are never at ease) is spiritually destructive to our health and wellbeing. It saps our ability to be fully present with those we love the most in our families, and keeps us from forming the kind of community that we all so desperately crave.”
It speaks into that same space. We’re not busy because the world demands it of us, we’re busy to run from ourselves and those around us as a retreat from the insecurities in our own heart. As those insecurities are cleansed by his love, you’ll find yourself far less busy. There’s no reason to be anymore and having time for the people in your life will allow you to experience the richness of real community, not just another meeting to rush off to or another responsibility to check off your list.
(Health update: For those concerned about my recovery from open-heart surgery, all continues as well as can be expected, which is a bit too slow for me. 🙂 I’m now three weeks from surgery in some pain and discomfort at times, but mostly just allowing the trauma to heal and my strength to recover. I’m walking about 4 miles per day now and will begin cardio therapy in a week or so. This has been quite a process, but filled with some lovely things God has done in the midst of it all. I’ll share those some day too. My family has been an incredible source of care and courage to get through this. For now, it is back to sleep, which seems to sneak up on me without notice and without my permission!)
I am so pleased that your recovery is as it should be, albeit too slow for your liking. ‘He makes me lie down in green pastures’. I hope the pain goes quickly though, that part is not nice at all.
While you are pondering away the hours of recovery I wondered if you could share your thoughts on the stuff that is being said by Christians regarding Trump. Well more specifically by Lance Wallnau. An acquaintance posted his video up on Facebook yesterday and I was troubled by the intensity that he had regarding what we as the church have to do now to stop the forces of darkness. Ever since leaving the controlled religious group I was involved with, I have come to a different understanding of what prayer really looks like, so the sort of intercessory prayer Lance is talking about makes me go cold, but the years of indoctrination that I have fought to rid myself of are pulling hard at my guilt strings. I don’t want to be one of those outside the ark when the flood comes, but I have huge difficulty in believing that what he is saying is what I have to get involved in. I would love to know what your thoughts are on his comments.
https://www.facebook.com/LanceWallnau/?pnref=story
Hi Joyce. I’m grateful for your gracious thoughts toward my recovery. Some times rest does seemed “forced” doesn’t it? But it is renewing either way if we submit to it. Unfortunately I don’t have time to watch all the videos or read all the websites people send me. I did glance briefly at your link and to be honest it turned my stomach pretty quickly. I think your discernment is right on! This man is trying to lead a movement and his tactics are fear-based as well as juvenile. Don’t worry about being left out of this ark, it’s not one you’d want to be in anyway. People make too much of this election. Neither candidate was a “savior” for our nation. Both were deeply flawed and best remind us that our hope in the future of our world rests in the sovereignty of God, not the votes of humanity….
Wayne thanks so much for your quick response. I appreciate your comments and it has helped me to be assured that the ‘guilt’ I feel is not of the Father. Now I can rest in Him again and not be agitated. Have a blessed day. 🙂