Jesus calls us to love others as He has loved us. This love is full of forgiveness, passion, and honesty - full of abounding grace, far beyond what any human mind can imagine. This love, which surpasses all understanding, is for me, sometimes even harder to receive. How do I openly and graciously receive such love without the capability to even fathom it? How can I reach out to others without first learning to abide in the love that I have been shown?
In child psychology there is something called attachment theory. Babies who are securely attached have an optimal combination of desire for exploration and need for security. These babies are willing to explore new environments and situations but do so only as long as their parent is within eyesight. By using their parent as a secure base, these babies have the ability to reach beyond their normal comfort zones and engage in new experiences. In the same way, it is only by finding security in receiving radical love from our Father, that we can then love others radically as well.
When I consider the love we've received, that "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." I often find myself wondering, but how could he really love me that much? And when I get past that point, my question becomes: if I did believe he loves me that much, how would that affect my actions?
For me it always seems to come back to trust. And not just trusting God with those items in my life that I want his stamp of approval on, but trusting God completely and fully with every aspect of my life. It means holding my hopes and dreams in an open hand before Him, allowing myself to be disappointed knowing that He has greater plans. It means actually hearing the promise in Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.'" and being willing to wait.
So as you can see this is quite a winding road towards loving radically, but I pray that on this journey together we will learn to sit back and rest in the security and love found in our Lord, knowing that by being in his grace, in his presence, he will lead us to do great things.
Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
In child psychology there is something called attachment theory. Babies who are securely attached have an optimal combination of desire for exploration and need for security. These babies are willing to explore new environments and situations but do so only as long as their parent is within eyesight. By using their parent as a secure base, these babies have the ability to reach beyond their normal comfort zones and engage in new experiences. In the same way, it is only by finding security in receiving radical love from our Father, that we can then love others radically as well.
When I consider the love we've received, that "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." I often find myself wondering, but how could he really love me that much? And when I get past that point, my question becomes: if I did believe he loves me that much, how would that affect my actions?
For me it always seems to come back to trust. And not just trusting God with those items in my life that I want his stamp of approval on, but trusting God completely and fully with every aspect of my life. It means holding my hopes and dreams in an open hand before Him, allowing myself to be disappointed knowing that He has greater plans. It means actually hearing the promise in Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.'" and being willing to wait.
So as you can see this is quite a winding road towards loving radically, but I pray that on this journey together we will learn to sit back and rest in the security and love found in our Lord, knowing that by being in his grace, in his presence, he will lead us to do great things.
Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
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