Living Life for Christ Alone

I sat in the back seat of whatever car I was in at the time, looking out the window, deep in thought.  Something was stirring in me. I can't explain it. You probably wouldn't understand unless you, too have had a similar experience.  The thoughts were heavy ones. Ones of death, of heaven and hell, of lost souls all around me headed in the wrong direction. I watched as cars passed us, seeing the faces inside, deeply bothered that I did not know the state of their souls.  "God, show me what You see when You see those people out there," I prayed silently.  My heart grew heavier. Tears of anguish have fallen since.  This is no petty issue I am talking about. God's heart towards others is much bigger than we assume.   The past ten or so years since this prayer have been a slow opening of my eyes in answer to it. He's wanted me to see, really see... He wants you to see too.  Since then, I thought I was called to the mission field "out there," but God se...

"By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us...." (1 John 3:16) We do not know love any other way.  Until Jesus laid down His life for us, heavenly love wasn't tangible.  Most could only guess what God meant when He told His people He loved them.  But now, He proved His love, like a Lover pursuing a bride, setting aside His glory, giving up His very life, for the world. His love was on full display the whole time He lived here.  It wasn't just that ultimate act on the cross that revealed it.  It was seen in His every response to the world around Him.  It was made visible in His mission -the will of His Father- that defined every action He did.  Laying down His life was laying down not only the physical life He had on this earth, it was also laying down His time, His resources, His comfort, His sleep, His ease, His thoughts, desires and emotions....  And the disciples watched as He did so, floored every time God lowered Himself to se...

"Where are you?"   She hears, but is afraid to come out of the shadows, for she knows that if she walks into the light that is inseparable from the One who called her, her sin and imperfections will be exposed.  "What if He doesn't love me anymore?"  She asks herself, fearing that all she's known of Him will be proven untrue. His footsteps come closer. He calls her by name. His voice filled with tender love.  His light shines on the trees around her, maker her shadowy hiding place a little more conspicuous.  She remembers the many times He has held her in the past as she wept over her pain. His kindness towards her fills her mind, and she knows that she can't live without Him. If she must go on, she must be exposed to the light, however uncomfortable.  Really, what does she have to lose if she has Him? Or on the contrary, what does she have to gain if she loses Him? She steps out of hiding. The light catches first her feet, and then there in plain sigh...

Love... A word that keeps surfacing in my life lately.   I see it in my children’s picture bible as I catch sight of a depiction of Jesus hanging on the cross.   I hear pleas for Love in those who speak of their pain.   “Oh, to be truly loved,” the heart cries.   I wonder just how deep love can reach and as I reach for the deepest that I can find, I realize I still have not found the depths.   Love –as limitless as God.   Love –as profound as He is.   Love –wider than the widest ocean, vaster than the heavens.   However much we open ourselves up to it, there is always more. Love – the very expression of God.   Do you really know Him?   You might say yes, but have you tasted Him if you have not yet tasted love?   For He has said, “God is love.” (1 John 4:8)   The more I peer  into its depths, the more captivated I become.   Could there be any greater, more awe-striking way for God to express Himself? Take a wal...