Radically loving Christ=Thanksgiving!

As a servant journeys through this life heaven-bound, listening for the voice of the Father is all important. Many wonder how to hear it, or why they do not hear it. Many times we do not because we are not truly listening. Our mind is too full of what we want or need or expect, rather than being openly submissive to Christ the King. We forget basic principles of being the child of an extravagant God whose love is ever-present & never dependent upon our behavior...however...our behavior very well may, and most likely does, determine our answer to prayer. Our devoted creator knows what is best for us, and his answers are not always yes. A no, a maybe, a wait a bit answer IS nevertheless an answer. What about all those "bad" things that happen? Why does he allow it? We live in a fallen world, where sin begets sin, BUT the Lord will use everything for good that we will turn over to him. This may be particularly hard in some instances, but once we learn that character is built in such times we can take those times and turn them into ministry to others in pain.

Many books are written, many songs are penned, and many poems are put to paper because of the Savior bringing someone through a tough circumstance. Likewise, much is said of many due to the revelation of the extravagant love of Christ. Being quiet before the Lord, pouring out our deepest thoughts, desires, dreams, and fears we find a God who cradles us in his bountiful love and speaks gentle words of favor to our waiting hearts. We can live without fear or guilt in this life, and seek eternity with great joy and expectation. All that is required of us is to return his extravagant love.

What does extravagant love mean really? It is love abandoning all else, it is love that moves you to desire only goodness in your behavior, abiding worship of the Lord of all, and loving those in this world with Christlike genuineness. True "religion" is caring for others as Christ cares for us, usually in many practical ways-feeding the hungry, helping the poor, and serving the orphans & widows in this world. "Church" is where we hear the word, worship the Lord God of hosts, and connect with other believers. The world outside the church doors is where we practice our "religion". We have come to think dutiful good works, the observance of man-made rituals and the legalistic following of God's commands is religion. It is not. TRUE "religion" is the boundless desire to do good, the radical love of a matchless God, and the freedom to follow God's commands out of deep desire to please him. The Bible says where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. It is a "get to" mentality, not a "have to" one.

Our salvation is an option...we can choose eternity in hell (the total absence of a loving Dad forever), we can choose to give back to God in whatever % we want of what he has given to us (tithing once was a legalistic command, but has become a love-filled option in the presence of a saving Christ, wherein we sow seeds that are reaped accordingly),we can choose to worship as we wish, pray as we will, enter the waters of baptism as an act of obedience or not, and the list goes on. Radically loving Christ is an option-a wonderful, glorious, mind-blowing option in life that is surpassed by nothing else in this world. God is a God of grace, mercy, and everlasting patience with creation. He is an all-loving God, a just God, and a God of graciousness. The Holy Spirit never forces us to do a thing, but will overwhelm us with radical, extravagant love when we simply acknowledge our total lack of real control in life without the help of God almighty. Nothing in this life is worth anything without the love of the creator guiding us through it.

There is a place for the deep reverence of God and a place for the unbound excitement in loving God. Thus we have the extremes of denominational boundaries and non-denominational freedoms. I have seen in recent days that these extremes are learning to not just be tolerant of one another, but to be involved with one another, and to learn and adopt from one another. We are learning that reading the scriptures and tracing the meaning of the words written there brings us to a place of understanding and radically loving a God we never fully knew. Above all, seek not the gifts of God, but God himself. Never seek to please man before God. As we immerse ourselves in the Word he reveals himself to us and we find that place of radically loving an extravagant God. As he says "shhhh...be still and know that I am God" and we abide in his presence we come out the other end ready to shout to the world that we serve an all powerful God that we love so radically that nothing can hold us back from serving him and worshipping him with all that is in us.

It is nearly Thanksgiving time in America, where we give thanks for a God of great blessing. My Thanksgiving prayer is that all would come to know the heart of God, the overwhelming joy and peace in radically loving him, and would celebrate this love of God by being a willing servant in a fallen world. Thank you Jesus, for loving us so much you allowed yourself to be broken and spilled out in radical, extravagant love for us!