Sunday, March 4, 2012

March 5, 2012

"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God." I John 4:7

I knew my mother loved me with a fierce and intense love. She still does. BUT she is my mom and she HAS to love me.

My dad should have loved me. I think he did as much as he could. I am not sure he knew what was involved in loving someone else. I don't remember him ever telling me he loved me or that he was proud of me although I think he was.

So, when I heard that God loved like a Heavenly Father I didn't have much of a frame of reference for that. While I had no reason to not believe it I also had no point of reference for it.

That is, until we walked into a little Wesleyan Methodist Church in Silver Lake, IN one Sunday morning and felt instantly loved and accepted. That was a new experience for us - but we liked it! When we went back the next Sunday it was the same way! And the next week was also the same!

Granted, the eight people in our crew gave a huge boost to their attendance average but they didn't have to love us! They didn't have to but they did. We were experiencing the power of God's love for the first time! We liked it! We have never been the same!

The question that we had to wrestle with was, "Why do these people love us like they do?" Exploring that question led to the realization that they loved us because they loved God and God loved us!

Being loved so well by the people of God set us on a search to learn more about His love. That search continues to this moment but, over time each of us made a decision to receive His love by receiving His Son, Jesus Christ.

Fifty-two years after being loved well by God's people and having been tranformed by it, I still don't understand it completely and probably never will. But I know this, I can't live without it nor do it want to. And, I am committed to be used of God to build a church that loves like that little church did so others can have their lives transformed as my family and I did!

So, we are studying this great little book "CRAZY LOVE" by Francis Chan and trying to understand how to receive more of His love so we can love each other better and lavish love on all who come to worship with us!

Will you help me? Will take this journey with me? Will you rid yourself of shallow love and selfish love and open your heart to God's "Crazy Love"? If you do, FredWes will never be the same nor will you!