Thumping

Because of God’s uniqueness along with His one of a kind love for each of us, relying on formulas and programs is not the best way for us to touch people’s hearts. This is where intimacy with Him really comes into play, where the trust we’ve been talking about over the past several days has its opportunity to shine. It’s by His leading that we are most effective in loving those He puts in our lives. Because He knows so much better than we do, we must rely on Him to prepare the way and to present our chance to touch folks. Jesus (obviously) was the perfect example of this for us. He sought The Father with all His heart, loved the people around Him well and when God led Him to a special encounter He responded. Never the same speech, He didn’t hand them a flyer or lump them into a group. He let them know they were special even when what He had to say was difficult.     

It’s Personal

Love is always personal. We’re not called to love people; we’re called to love persons. It’s much easier to love this group or that nation without really getting into the mess that we are as individuals. When we disregard the uniqueness of individuals and diminish them by lumping them into one big pot, we miss the opportunity to share how special they are to The Father. It’s one thing to vote for this issue or contribute to that cause but it’s a God thing to get into the muck with someone and see them through to Him.

The Father

If we’re going to emulate anyone in the story of the man that had two sons it should be the Father. His love for the lost never wavers, His patience with the religious is unfailing, He desires for us to know that all He has is ours and He rejoices when we are with Him. Let’s be like the father to everyone and not camp in the role of either one of His sons.