Inspiration of Love 02

In our illustration from part 01, by himself little Johnny could not go into the dark pantry, but with Jesus he could. This is a beautiful expression of childlike faith. And it raises some interesting ideas.

"Where do you want me to go, Lord? What do you want me to do?"

These questions arise from a seeker's heart and strong desire to accomplish the will of God. However, too many Christians are reluctant to receive God's answers to those questions. Instead of listening, hearing, and obeying, we sometimes: listen, hear, and ask the questions again. In those cases our seeker's heart is supplanted by selfishness.

Why Does This Happen?

Well, sometimes God wants us to not only step out of our comfort zone, but to move out entirely into something new. He says things like, "I want you to go to the pantry at the far end of the house and fetch me some tomatoes." And we respond, "But it's dark and scary." In short, fear is why we cannot understand God's will.

After all, God has my best interests in mind, right? Why would he send me to scary uncomfortable places? I understand. But consider that God's good treatment of us is not limited to our conception of his will. In fact, didn't I surrender my will to his will? Was it not me asking the question: "Where do you want me to go, Lord?" in my best attempt to emulate Isaiah (ch 6). God's will is often outside our comfort zones. Therefore, God has to ask us to leave our zones of comfort in order to accomplish his will. We don't refuse to go because we have no love for God. We refuse to go, because we love ourselves and our safety more. The driving fear is that we will lose our comfort, or something precious to us, or our identity (ourselves).

One Scary Thing God Asks of All His Children: Will you Shine in Darkness for Me?

Jesus said the children of God were to be lights in the dark world (Mt 5:14ff). Besides going into a dark world, as scary as that can be, God expects his children to shine there, like a city set on a hill, like a lamp set high giving light to an entire room. Those analogies refer to the Christian life. Each child of God is a living testimony of God's light in the dark world. Living and giving a testimony is a frightening prospect, especially in full view of darkness. You mean God expects me to live like Christ in front of my pagan neighbors, strangers, in public? YES! Discipleship, evangelism, ministering, and witnessing scare people, both the Christian and unbeliever sometimes! Yet the early Christians gave testimony surrounded by darkness. Jesus himself, surrounded by darkness, bore witness of God's work in him. Why did Jesus do it? Why did he go the cross? Because it was his Father's will. Why won't you go into the darkness to bear witness of the light within you?

We are good at showing the wrath and judgment of God to others, but not so much his love. Have we forgotten that it was while we were sinners that God loved us and sent his child (not any or our children) to atone for our sins (Rom 5:8-10)? It is easy to state that we love because God first loved us, but it is hard to show that same love. It is hard to love sinners, to accept them where they are, and patiently live a testimony before them.

KEY: If we really trusted, really listened, then we would know that God wants us to be his love.

"And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them."

(1 Jn 4:16)

What did the Apostles know? They knew that God loved them.

In what did they place their trust? In God's love from them.

This is the Good News that inspired the first followers of Jesus. Indeed, the Good News offered an escape from wrath, but the door of escape opened up to the promise of a deep, intimate, personal love.

And God lives in those who love! Lots of folks attend church services and read their bibles, but they don't live love; therefore, God does not live in them. That is the simple, bottom line. We can argue doctrine until we are red-faced crazy and then until we are blue-faced out of wind, but no one is getting around this truth - God expects his children to live like him (his light, his love) in this hopeless and dark world. And that is the evidence that you are truly in Christ and know God.

One More Time: Why is That?

Because love drives out fear (1 Jn 4:18). Wrath creates fear. Selfishness creates fear.

God's love inspires us to move outside of our own personal comfort for the sake of love and manifesting that love to a people who so desperately need it.

So any apprehension we may experience in living out God's light and love, of being a living testimony, fades by resting on what we KNOW and BELIEVE about God's love for us. In doing this, God's love is always our primary motivation, and all fear is cast out.