Revolutionary Love

A little over a year ago, Shad and I embarked on a new life journey. A journey that moved us across the country to become church launchers. We had no idea what to expect as we left our home in the Midwest to launch a church in the San Francisco Bay Area. We were just excited by God's leading and confident in the path that He had chosen for us! As we settled in, our team met to determine what was essential for true life transformation to occur. This determination would be the foundational core upon which our church was built. After times of discussion, prayer, and seeking God's wisdom through His spirit and that of other believers, we resolved that true life transformation occurs in love.

As a church, we committed to become revolutionary in the way that we showed love. We would love beyond the limits, we would go beyond what was comfortable, we would go to the 'least of these' and love. We would love, not with the motive or expectation to 'save' people, but simply love because Jesus loved and loves us still today. I was excited; perhaps to many, this is nothing new, but for me it was like the light had finally turned on. I was slowly starting to understand the purpose that God has called believers to.

I began to feel challenged. I knew that the Lord had called us here for greater service, to share His love, and to be a light to those hurting and broken. What I didn't know is the work that God planned to do in my own life that would allow me to begin to scratch the surface of becoming a Revolutionary Lover. In the months that followed, God began convicting me of my lofty attitude, the critical spirit that resided within me for all the years I've known Jesus, my insincere attempts to love those around me and my tendency to close myself off to others to keep myself safe. I knew in my heart all of these would be detrimental to me truly loving people. I would need to begin purging myself of these sinful attitudes and behaviors and allow the Lord to refine me, to change me to become more like Him.

For me, becoming more like Jesus and loving others as He has commanded is a process that has not been not easy. It is a daily challenge that requires me to check my motives, to ask the Lord to search my heart, to reveal the offensive ways within me. It requires me to diligently seek opportunities to encourage those around me and to actively pursue ways to be Jesus. It requires that I be engaged and completely present in my relationships. It requires sacrifice and the sometimes painful reminder that this life is really not about me. Most importantly, it requires that I choose daily to draw close to and draw from the source of true Revolutionary Love; Jesus.

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I would be delighted to have you share your thoughts so that we might be challenged and encouraged by one another. As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17

What are some tangible ways that we can love those that God has given to us?

What are some of the challenges that you face in loving people like Jesus?

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Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Romans 12:9

The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' Matthew 25:40

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails...And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
I Corinthians 13:4-8,13

...and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5:2

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Romans 12:10

Keep on loving each other as brothers. Hebrews 13:1

Search me, O God, and know my heart;test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me,and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24