Love Extravagantly

A thought on love for Valentine’s Day:

"We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us! But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love."
(1 Cor. 13:12-13 MSG)

Resting in the Lord

I just got back from a women’s retreat in the Kansas City, MO area. The women were given an extended time with God. One of the things we talked about was the possibility that they might sleep during part of the time. We likened it to a child, crawling up into the lap of their mom, cuddling in close and falling asleep. If a mother enjoys that kind of love with her child, how much more God would enjoy us completely relaxing in His presence and basking in His love.

In the picture above you might see a few white dots in the grass. These are women laying in grass, soaking up the warmth of the sunshine - but mostly resting in the Presence of their Father who loves them very, very much.

The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing.
(Zephaniah 3:17)

The Freedom of Non-Judgment

Luke 6:37-38 - "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

From Henri Nouwen’s Here and Now, Living in the Spirit:

“Only when we claim the love of God, the love that transcends all judgments, can we overcome all fear of judgments. When we have become completely free from the need to judge others, we will also become completely free from the fear of being judged.

The experience of not having to judge cannot coexist with the fear of being judged, and the experience of God’s non-judgmental love cannot coexist with a need to judge others. That’s what Jesus means when he says: ‘Do not judge, and you will not be judged.’ The connection between the two sides of this sentence is the same connection that exists between the love of God and the love of neighbor. they cannot be separated. This connection, however, is not simply a logical connection that can be thought through. It is first and foremost a connection of the heart that is made in prayer.”

A Pure Gift

“Since we've compiled this long and sorry record as sinners....and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we're in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ.” (Romans 3:23-24, The Message)