If They're Gonna Know Us By Our Love... We Have Work To Do - A Five Minute Friday post.

I finally made it to the party for a bit last night and it felt good, and right, and a little like home! (If you are a writer and are looking for Community, check out #fmfparty on Twitter on Thursday nights!)

Here we go: This is a Five Minute Friday post, which simply means I set a timer and free write for five minutes flat on the one word prompt of: WORK

{GO}

I see the word prompt and my first thought is, "Well - we have a lot of that to do!"

I think of this world and how broken and divided it can be... how broken and divided it is.  I think of the words of Jesus in the Gospel of John:

"This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.” John 13:35 The Message

I think of how I wish this was true... of how I wish that 'they' could look at the Church at large and see by the way we love each other and Him that we are, in fact, His! 

That we are representing Him well in the earth!

I know... I do.  Just hang with me here.

I know that there is all kinds of drama and all kinds of controversy and so many different camps and different theologies and beliefs, but here's the thing:  
We are called to love.  

Not love in blindness and turning a blind eye (although I DO recall a charge to turn the other cheek!?) Usually the ones who point out that there is 'too much love' are the same ones who have a passion to 'correct' strangers without having a relationship with them. That's not love.  

But it's not love to never speak the truth either --however I believe that right is something we earn as we build friendship and community and we find that we may know a thing or two --but there are plenty of planks in our own eyes and oh how we need each other to speak the truth in love with each other, to each other, while being FOR each other!

Yes. This. 
We are better together
                    ...stronger, even.

I don't really think that we will be lined up and judged by having our theological ducks in a row.  I don't think it's our doctrine that is going to give us those crowns in heaven.

Nope.

It's the love.

It's all about the Love.

Always has been. 
      Always will be.

It breaks my heart to see the Church not only judging the 'unchurched' or lost... but it twists the knife to see us dismantling each other, blow by blow.  

We eat our young.  

I've read it somewhere that we are ONE Body... ONE Church... ONE Bride with ONE Bridgroom... ONE family, with ONE Father.

I don't know how long it's been since you have camped out in Matthew Chapter Five, but I highly recommend it.  

Also: 1 Cor 13.
                  Just sayin'...

I think if we would become skilled at loving each other the way God loves us, the world would come running... because, who doesn't want a good, good, Father like ours?

The love we have been given and are called to give away --it's not OURS (which is super limited and conditional) --it's HIS!!!

It's HIS Love we are called to (as my niece says) 'fling with reckless abandon' wherever we go!

"But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love." 1 Cor 13:13

That word 'greatest' actually could be translated to read: eldest.  Yes - eldest... because Love came first.

It's always been Love!

Always has been. 
      Always will be.

{STOP}

I know there is a time and a place to have hard conversations... to have heart to heart interactions. (Rarely if ever is that the internets, by the way.)  

I know many who have trouble with the message of Love because it feels like too much grace.  (Funny how we never find too much grace when we are talking about our own sin?) 

I do know and love and believe the Bible... I just think we would be much better off, and be fulfilling our call in a better way, if we would focus on what we agree on rather than what tears us apart. 

One feels like Jesus... the other, not so much!  

I don't have to --or want to-- agree with you on every single thing.  How boring would life be if we were all alike? God created us in His image and yet each of us is uniquely designed and created to be one of a kind! 

I think He longs for a Family Resemblance more than cookie cutter followers.  He's always been after the heart... And if our heart belongs to Him, we are called to love and let His Mercy and Kindness do the heavy lifting. 

If 'they' are going to know us by our love... yeah... we have some work to do! 

The real work is making sure that heart of ours is still in His hands. 

If it is, we can rest assured that He is cleaning it and making it pure... that He is molding it and shaping it and making it new!

Love Wins... Let's let Him love us! Let's let Him do the work... while we let Him work in us and through us and let's be honest... sometimes in spite of us.

Let's purpose to love in a way that shines brighter than any darkness around us... that heals any brokenness... that binds up the broken-hearted and sets the prisoners free... let's love ourselves and our neighbors and our God with reckless abandon and trust that the Holy Spirit will sort it all out. Because It's always been Love!

Always has been. 
      Always will be.

Linking up with Kate Motaung and the #fmfparty Community today.  Five Minute Fridays gives us the chance to dive right in and share what He puts on our hearts! Click HERE to read what others have to say about: "WORK"

The FMF lowdown: The gathering happens on Twitter on Thursday nights & then we write our hearts out & hit publish all over the interwebs on Thursday & Friday (& sometimes on Tuesdays!) It's where we encourage & uplift... where we share prayer requests & praise reports... where we talk food & friends & we find support & kindred hearts. It's where we are reminded that life is good & God is good & we're not alone... & then we all write for five minutes flat, a flash mob of wordsmiths letting our hearts & our fingers do the talking tapping & we hit publish before we can second guess it all away. We'd love to have you join us!

I'm also linking up with the lovely writer communities linked below:

#FreshMarketFriday...

Kelly Balarie for #RaRaLinkUp

Lori Schumaker for #MomentsofHope

Barbie Swihart for #Glimpsesofhisbeauty

Jennifer Dukes Lee for #TellHisStory

A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, THE LORD SPOKE TO ME AND THROUGH ME REGARDING SABBATH REST AND I TURNED MY 31 DAYS SERIES INTO AN EBOOK ON AMAZON.  IF YOU ARE FINDING YOURSELF IN NEED OF REST (WHICH --WHO ISN'T, REALLY?) CHECK OUT THIS SHORT, DAILY DEVOTIONAL  31 DAYS OF RESTING IN GOD ...IT'S EASIER/HARDER THAN YOU THINK!  

YOU CAN PURCHASE IT BY CLICKING HERE OR GRABBING IT FROM THE SIDE BAR TO THE RIGHT IF REST IS SOMETHING YOU KNOW YOU NEED, BUT JUST KEEP PUTTING OFF!