Graced to Love

As you know, I have been wrestling with a question from our week 3 of Living Beyond Yourself.

Beth's question, tucked in the middle of a paragraph on the final day of that weeks homework, hit me like a ton of bricks.

Do you realize that even your capacity to love God is completely divine and supernatural?

Human capacity – human ability. It's limited and narcissistic. As we strive for significance it is easy to pat ourselves on the back for successes and take the credit. However take an introspective look at our daily experiences and we find we have to agree with the saying, “the apple doesn't fall far from the tree?” I am not so far removed from Eve that I should forget what my capabilities or extreme willpower are. Or aren't. From helping with menial tasks to having devotions with the kids. It can all be selfishly driven under the cloak of love. I remember watching an episode of “Friends” where they were trying to perform a completely selfless act. The conclusion on the show was that it wasn't possible. Even the best examples in the Bible show what humans will do when left to their own desires. There's David with Bathsheba, a man after God's own heart; or remember Elisha's depressing descent after a miraculous Mt Carmel experience. Think back to Paul's letter to the church in Rome, left up to self we can't do what we want to do! So why would I be so surprised that I am not capable of loving God on my own willpower?

More impressive however, are the many examples in the OT and NT that display what happens when someone loves God with all their heart, soul and mind. We see Abraham willing to sacrifice his only son in faith believing that God will provide for what He promised. We see Joseph and Daniel being men of integrity and bringing Glory to God because of their unwavering faith in God. God's ultimate example in scripture however, is to be found in His son, Jesus. Christ's demonstrates His love for us through obedience to His Father to the point of dying on the cross for the wrongs we have committed.

Completely divine.

God's love for us is all the more amazing when I realize that he loved us enough to create us even though He knew we would decide to give ourselves credit for anything that seems to go well in our life or as Mother Teresa so aptly puts it – we wrongly “glory in our successes”.

Pride is one of the main reasons for my blindness to the inability to love.

C S Lewis says:

“The loves prove they are unworthy to take the place of God by the fact that they cannot even remain themselves and do what they promise to do without God's help.” 144

“Every human love, at its height, has a tendency to claim for itself a divine authority. Its voice tends to sound as if it were the will of God Himself.” 8

God desires that we love Him and others so He has given us everything we need for faith and godliness. Here are some verses I have been ingesting as I digest concepts of faith, love and purpose in community.

Ephesians 3:16-19

¹⁶ I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, ¹⁷ and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. ¹⁸ I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, ¹⁹ and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Hebrews 11:6

“without faith it's impossible to please God. Anyone who comes to Him must believe He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

Ephesians 2:8, 10

⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—

¹⁰ For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Acts 17:24-28

²⁴ The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, ²⁵ nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things. ²⁶ From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, ²⁷ so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him—though indeed he is not far from each one of us. ²⁸ For ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said,

‘For we too are his offspring.’

Some important parts of a life in Christ are mentioned in these verses. Faith, love, salvation and purpose. I need to have faith to believe that a loving God is my Saviour in EVERY aspect of my life. God will bless our earnest seeking and make our work significant. He will love through us as we believe that it is His love that we need.

I love this explanation by C S Lewis:

“God, who needs nothing, loves into existence wholly superfluous creatures in order that He may love and perfect them.” 154

As Meridith Andrews sings, “The old has gone the new has come, we are reconciled by love...”

Here's A Question...

I have been working on this post for the past two weeks as I have been trying to wrap my head around a question that is challenging me to the core. I will post my journey another day but thought that I would throw the question out to you.

What are your thoughts around this question from our homework book, pg 70:

Do you realize that even your capacity to love God is completely divine and supernatural?

Here

Sorry, I hit enter before I realized what happened. I am now trying to think of something profound to say about the word "here" because I can't figure out how to delete this!!!

"Here" is where we are right now. Let's make the most of it!

A Good Day!

I have so many good reasons to be excited about today.

The sun shining brightly is definitely one of them. Although Manitoba has some very cold winter days, the sun has a very uplifting effect for me and helps to cancel out some of the effects of the cold.

I was a very proud Canadian last night watching Virtue and Moir make history!!! What an amazingly intense skate both artistically and athletically. They captured my imagination and my emotions so completely that I was in tears at the effect during their skate and cheering much louder than a mother with sleeping children should have when their marks were posted!!! What an amazing and beautiful performance.

I am also very excited about meeting for Bible study again tomorrow night. Like many of you I missed our time together this past week. The session 4 video will be played through the TV/DVD combo as well as the large screen - the same way we viewed them before Christmas. Something about this DVD isn't letting us play it on the DVD that is set up in the fireside room. I appreciate your patience on that matter.

Finally, I wanted to let you know that we are hosting the Beth Moore Simulcast entitled, "So Long Insecurity" on April 24th! Dave has been talking with NKMB and McIvor MB. We are excited to be able to move in this direction. Please mark the day on your calendar - invite friends and family and co-workers and neighbours. I have really been enjoying working through the book as well and am looking forward to the Word God will speak through her at that event. More details will come out shortly but I wanted to give you a heads up so you can mark the date and prepare to be there.

I hope that your day if filled with some joy. Nothing fights the blues like being glad in the goodness of God.

Psalm 32:11

Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous,
and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

More on Love...

This past weekend I was able to hear the last part of Stuart Maclean's radio show. I enjoyed the story he told called "Love Never Ends." In case you are interested in listening to it here is the link. It is a free down load. Just click and listen!

http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/vinylcafe_20100213_26915.mp3

I love hearing peoples love stories. Mostly I love how a good story makes us want to love those in our loves with the best that we have. And this story reminds us where that best love comes from.

Musings on Valentine's Day

I know there are differing opinions about Valentine's Day. As with most celebrated days it can hold a mix of fond memories and hurtful ones. One of my favourite memories growing up was coming to the breakfast table and finding a card from my dad. He always sketched one. It was usually made from the thin paper of one of those doodle pads. We probably wouldn't even find that kind of paper at the dollar store anymore! The card was given with a few chocolates that my mom had no doubt picked up. I loved the card for a couple of reasons. The first was that my dad meant the world to me. I loved everything he did. I love his drawings, especially of horses. I loved the way he taught us sports and played baseball and frisbee with us. The way he played board games with us, always letting us win. The way he tucked us into bed every night, prayed with us (always praying for God to prepare a spouse for us) and tried to teach us German! As I grew up I loved his faith in God. Even though we didn't always agree on everything, he taught me about the importance of loving generously, even when it was painful. He prayed constantly and took church seriously. He loved to worship and thank God for everything. He was simply a man of integrity. I loved every card he ever wrote me!

Another reason I loved the cards were because in my mind it wasn't conventional. Men didn't typically make things like that. At least I had never heard of it. That made it special. A keepsake!

I remember it being very hard the first time my dad disappointed me. God has ways of reminding us that no one will ever be able to satisfy like He does or love us like He does.

A couple of years ago I had another such reminder of human capabilities in the area of loving. I love Dave a lot. I am thankful for God bringing us together and for the commitment, the experiences and children and our love. It is a gift from God. Dave is my Valentine. I also believe that no one is ever to take the place of God in our lives. God's love is so much more than earthly love can be.

It was very clear to me a couple of years ago that I was depending far too much on Dave for too many things. It would be the first of many times that I would recall God asking me, "who is your God?".
Dave was going overseas for two weeks and I knew that I would be taking my own spiritual journey at home. I felt that I was to "let go" of the way I was loving Dave, not because something fatal was going to happen but because it was something I had to do if I was to walk in obedience to God. Throughout the weeks I began realizing that there was just no way that Dave would ever be able to or should ever have to fulfil all of the expectations that I was placing upon him. I'm sure a very freeing time for Dave!! I am learning that if God's love isn't my example and source it just isn't humanly possible to love well at all.

So however you remember the day, whether you celebrate the romantic holiday or wish it away; I know for certain there is a love out there for everyone of us that outlasts and outloves any of the best love we've known or given here.

I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have the power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ. Eph. 3:17b-18

Oh Deer!

Since we moved into our place in summer we have had neighbours telling us that we would be seeing deer in our backyard. We thought maybe our big viscous dog......had scared them away and that we wouldn't have to be concerned about our shrubs after all.

A number of days ago, we spotted them. (There in the arbour...positioned so nicely for the photo!)We thought there were three of them but as it turns, there are four!!! They are beautiful.

It is quite funny. They sit and stare at our house as if spying on us to see what we are doing! And our household, including Max, stare back!!This afternoon one deer came to eat our cedars.
As the deer was coming closer, I grabbed for the camera. I opened the patio door to get a picture and out shot Max ready to save our shrubs!! He bounded through the snow scaring all four of them, white tails up, chasing them deep into the yard and toward the river. I missed the best picture as I was shouting for Max to come back, frantically hoping that the deer wouldn't change their minds and decide maybe they were meat eaters after all!!

Here they are. Dave making sure Max wasn't in over his head. Max is just in front of Dave...can you see him, our big strong dog!