Maneuvers - No. 54
Take My Love
to the World
How do we love like Jesus in a world that’s so dark and angry all the time?
How do we serve like Jesus when everyone else is only taking what they can get and looking out for #1?
Better yet, how do we give over and over even when people use us and repay good with evil?
We can’t.
We (Jennifer and Justin) can’t possibly love unconditionally in our own strength. What about you, friend? Can you?
What’s so amazing is that we don’t have to! Jesus doesn’t expect us to take our love into the world… he fills us with his love so we have something pure and unending to offer this hurting, broken place where we live.
We find so much encouragement in this short yet powerful verse:
“We love because he [God] first loved us” (1 John 4:19, NIV).
In other words, Jesus takes the initiative to love us first and fill us with himself so that we can, in turn, love others. Isn’t that beautiful? Isn’t that the kind of love we truly crave?
Then together, let’s release these unreasonable expectations we place on ourselves when we love in our own strength. Let’s go directly to the source and receive all we need to help heal this world.
Come, let’s listen…
01.
The Message
“I love the sounds of connection–of people gathering together. But I love the sounds of silence, too. Do not be afraid to be alone. Do not be afraid to sit and be in solitude–to sometimes keep just your own company. It is not a boring place; it is a captivating, thrilling one. When you are settled down, at rest, you can be more awake to the world within you, the world experienced through seeing and listening with your spirit–not with your physical eyes and ears.
“Be awake now. Be stirred now. Let me speak to you now. Let me show you how to follow me into places where there are no boundaries and barriers. Let me show you where faith lives–where anything is possible. Let me lead you deeper into your imagination, where you can see me interacting with the world that you are in–and the world that is coming. That is the world I want you to inhabit–the world of the present as you anticipate the world to come.
“This is the place of love. This is the place where you are energized and equipped, inspired and encouraged. Be with me first–and then be in the world. Through being with me, I will show you how the current world is going to be so much more–how it will be healed and whole. This current world was designed for good. And it will be. Trust me. I make everything that is good.
“So will you join me in loving it? Can I teach you how to see the way I see, hear the way I hear, love the way I love? There is pain here, in this world. I know you feel it. And because of my love for you, you are equipped to partner with me in loving the people hurting. You are equipped to love others because I first loved you. So in the quiet, let me love you. Then, in the more noisy, more chaotic spaces of this world, stay with me. Take what you learn from me in the quiet and bring it to the world. You will practice experiencing the impossible. You will see miracles. You will see me work. Go with me, the two of us, in the safety of my love, into the world.”
02.
Listen
In this message, Holy Spirit is teaching us how to draw all we need from him first so we can take Jesus’ love into this world. How did your heart respond to his words? Did you feel relief? Joy? Excitement? Determination?
Let’s pull out our journals and a pen and write out a response to the Lord.
03.
Think
“I have not kept this good news hidden in my heart, but have proclaimed your loving-kindness and truth to all the congregation” (Psalm 40:10, TLB).
1. Where has it been difficult to show Christ’s love to others lately? Or where have you simply been going through the motions of serving and giving?
2. How does living in your own strength limit your ability to love? What hurts or lies have taught you to live this way?
3. How does Jesus want to love through you? What would that look like in your daily life?
4. How will you purposefully let Jesus fill you with his love today? How can you spend time with him and let him teach you?
04.
Trust
God created us for connection–to spend time with people we love and who love us.
But sometimes we let those outward connections distract us from simply being with Jesus. It’s so easy to forget that Jesus wants to spend quality time with us, too.
Because it’s in that closeness with Jesus that we learn how to partner with him in reaching this world. When we are in regular communion with him–the kind where our walls come down and we truly let him speak to our hearts–he teaches us how to see like he does.
Let’s practice this now.
First, let’s find our Bible, journal, and pen as well as a quiet spot where we can be alone with Jesus. Now, set a timer for five or 10 minutes and let Jesus speak….
In the quietness of this moment, let’s bring to Jesus the areas in our lives where we feel weary, where loving others feels like an effort instead of a privilege, and where serving feels like a chore.
Bring each of those situations to him, and as we do, let’s ask him to show us what he sees. Let’s ask him…
• Jesus, how do you view that person? What pain are they going through and how does that make you feel?
• How do you perceive that hurt I experienced? What was really going on in a spiritual sense? How can your love break through the trap of division the enemy has set?
• How do you view the ways I serve? Am I doing it to feel self-righteous or as an outflow of intimacy with you? What needs to change in my heart so that it’s you serving through me?
What did Holy Spirit show you, friend? What difficult or comforting truths did he speak to your heart? How will those truths equip you to show his love to this world–and enjoy it?
Let’s write down those insights in our journal. And now, let’s close with a prayer…
05.
Pray
Jesus, I love to be with you. But I confess where I’ve allowed self-effort and self-righteousness to get in the way of that closeness. I’m sorry for trying to love in my own strength.
I want to experience your love in a deeper way–and then share that love with the world. Help me seek you in the quiet places so I can know you and your love more intimately.
Open my eyes to see what you see… the wounded hearts, the broken lives, the lonely people. Let me feel what you feel for them. Fill me with your compassion, your mercy, and your tenderness.
I love you, Jesus. Let me know you more and more and more.
In your precious name, amen.
Waving the banner with you,
