Love: His Full Expression

It has been months since I have written anything. The occasional jotting down of scrambled thoughts finds itself on a small notepad but nothing I can ever finish. I’ve pondered, “Why? Where has writing gone? My safe haven for letting my heart speak, why are you silent? Why have your fingers locked up and your words frozen?” But before I could even find the answer to the question I would push it away, almost too saddened to know the answer.

“Delightfully loved ones, if He loved us with such tremendous love, then loving one another should be our way of life! […] But if we love one another, God makes His permanent home in us, and we make our permanent home in Him, and His love is brought to its full expression in us.” 1 John 4:11-12

Reading this late one night, just in an attempt to read some sort of scripture for the day, this halted my eyes from going any further. It was my answer looking back at me. It was a backwards way of answering my questions but nonetheless I knew what it was.

You see, I had stopped writing and letting my heart speak because my heart was too grieved for words. And still is at times. Since being home in America it has been so difficult, to see the division, the separation between one beautiful human and another beautiful human. Whether it’s politics, race, religion, violence, you name it – the separation is agonizing.

Within reading that verse from 1 John, I was reminded of the beautiful potential we have when we choose to love one another. Not only does violence cease and arguments fade into the background, but also His FULL expression is made in us! And for me that is the most beautiful, poetic, love story I believe we will ever know.

I think about myself, how undeserving I am and was for His unending grace and limitless love. I had made (and still do make) many mistakes, my judgments are wrong, I jump to conclusions at times without understanding someone or something better. Years ago, I didn’t look nice on the outside, I probably appeared hateful and maybe scary to some back in my days of all black (which I still love), chains, and dark makeup. But that is simply just style, nothing that you should fear. I am sure my words would’ve hurt you, full of filth and demeaning conversations. But those were just words, and if only you knew the rejection fueling each of them. Somehow in the midst of all of that, He still saw me and gave me Love. He chose to unify Himself with me, even when I wasn’t “right.”

What an extraordinary moment it could be if we would all see each other, all of our rights and wrongs, goods and bads, and still give Love. It says that in that moment that His Love is brought to its fullness in us. Just by the simple act of choosing to love rather than argue and point fingers, the very nature of God becomes fully expressed in US, people, messy, beautiful humans expressing God because we love.

His love is not expressed in our judgment against one another. It isn’t brought in our hateful social media postings. And it isn’t seen in our violence and slandering words.

It is fully expressed when we decide that love is more important.

More important than opinions, you know, the one that you are “absolutely right” about. Don’t let that be the mountain that you die on, walking over people just to make it to the summit and realize your opinions in actuality don’t make for good company.

More important than just your plot of land, there is a whole world that goes much further than the street you live on or the country you reside in. Look out bigger than yourself, allow yourself to see other’s realities.

More important than past events that have already come and gone, like the argument you had with a coworker last week that you are remaining bitter about – it has come and gone my friend, and today can be different. Today is different.

Writing has always been a way for me to hope in the midst of the brokenness I see and I think I know I let the division and disunity that I experienced coming back to America keep me from that. But I choose hope still. I want to see His full expression – I want us to choose to love one another.

“But one day I will understand everything, just as everything about me has been fully understood. Until then, there are three things that remain: faith, hope, and love – yet love surpasses them all. So above all else, let love be the beautiful prize for which you run.” 1 Corinthians 13: 12-13

Keep the faith even when it looks doubtful. Remain in hope, because there is goodness to be discovered. And choose love, because it is the most valuable thing you can give to the world.

Be Free and Love Freely.

“I made you like Me, I made you FREE.”

Driving along a backcountry road one summer night I reached to turn down the music blaring out of the speakers and asked Holy Spirit what He wanted to sing (this happens often in my car rides).  And for the next fifteen minutes I could only sing this one lyric, so simple but yet so profound and rich. 

I continued to think about the short one lined lyric Holy Spirit sang that night on that drive.  Freedom.  It’s necessary.  It’s life giving.  It’s joy packed. It’s liberating.  But what does freedom look like? 

Sadly, in today’s society that is all about freedom for all the wrong reasons you see freedom displayed in an ugly way, in a way that isn’t actually freedom at all.  You see people backbiting for what we call “passing on prayer concerns.”  You see people giving testimonies of God’s grace but yet tearing others down that had previously hurt them.  You see those all around you hurting people at the expense for their own gain.  Where has freedom gone wrong?  Where have we misconstrued the beauty of freedom and how honoring it is?

“If you abide in My Word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the Truth, and the Truth shall set you free.” John 8:31-32

Jesus is the ultimate guide for freedom. Yes, it wasn’t always rainbows and sunshine when Jesus spoke.  He brought love along with correction, He brought peace but in turn the Pharisees became offended, He brought a freedom that was an upside down way of thinking and living.  Not everything He said or commanded tickled people’s fancies but He never operated in freedom in order to abuse or hurt someone else.  He simply knew His identity, He was the Father’s Son, He was Savior, He was King, He was the propitiation for all mankind.  He knew. 

I think the key to healthy freedom is knowing who you are.  Who are we in Christ?  Who are we as a new creation in Christ Jesus? 

The book of Romans could be put on this whole blog entry as a reference but for the sake of trying to condense:  In chapter 6 it says that we, as lovers of Jesus, can walk in the newness of life because we have been buried and resurrected with Him; that we must consider ourselves DEAD to sin and ALIVE to God in Christ Jesus.  Later in verse 18 it says, “and having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.”  Reading on in chapter 8 it continues more, “but you received the spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs – heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.”

In just those two chapters the Word, the Truth, says that we can walk in the newness of life, alive to God, set free from sin, living lives of righteousness (goodness, honor, virtue, uprightness), and that we are His kids, heirs WITH Christ!!!

If that isn’t freedom then I don’t know what is?!  Knowing who you are can unlock how you truly view freedom. Freedom isn’t for our gain or to make us look better than others.  Knowing that we are co-heirs with Christ and that we can CHOOSE to join with Him and display His beauty and love to others is freedom.  We receive freedom through complete intimacy with the Father and we choose to walk out freedom daily.  But what does freedom look like?

“For you were called to freedom, brothers.  Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” Galatians 5:13

“Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but loving as servants of God.  Honor everyone.  Love the brotherhood.  Fear God.  Honor the king.”  1 Peter 2:16-17

“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.  And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts to which indeed you were called in one body.  And be thankful. Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” Colossians 3:12-16

In the commentary of the New Spirit Filled Life Bible this jumped out to me, “Christian freedom is not the removal of moral restraints, but the freedom to serve one another.  The gospel exchanges the oppressive bondage of legalism for the higher bondage of LOVE.”   Freedom unleashes us to truly love.  Knowing who we are in Christ gives us the freedom to love God, love others, and love ourselves.

As I was pulling into my driveway that night I finally began to sing a different song lyric, “The only thing that can set you free is letting Me love you like you’re meant to be.” 

Be free and love freely.