This here was an email I just stumbled upon while I was going through old unread messages. Good stuff. -brent ______________________________________________________________ God-Love Walks on Water by Jon Walker We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 1 John 3:14 (NIV) *** *** *** *** Our love for one another is the fruit, not the root, of our relationship with God. John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, taught that our love for others emerges from our relationship with God; that anyone born of God who knows God will love with the love of God (1 John 4:7, based on NLT). In a sense, the process of sanctification – our movement toward becoming portraits of Jesus – involves God-Love cleaning the clutter we've hidden in the cupboards and corners of our being. The Eternal Lover moves with deliberation through the grit and grime of our sin. He throws open the shades and wipes down the windows of our souls until we "shine like stars in the universe" (Philippians 2:15 NIV). As God scrubs our insides with the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ, we pass from "death to life" (1 John 3:14). We are transformed from people who are selective in who and how we love into people energized by God's spirit to love one another abundantly and unconditionally. It takes faith to love another with the God-Love flowing into us. Like Peter, we step or swim when we keep our eyes on Jesus and not the stormy waves of human emotions. Human love fears the water; God-Love walks across the waves with such confidence and grace that the storm is quelled. Love starts with God. God loved you first, and your ability to love others comes from your connection with God. God loved you; now, you love others, and that allows others to see God in you (1 John 4:11-12 NIV). Love proves Jesus-life. When you love others abundantly and unconditionally, you prove you've passed from death to Jesus-life. It proves you're now alive and connected to Jesus through the Holy Spirit (1 John 3:14). © 2008 Purpose Driven Life. All rights reserved. Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., one of America's largest and best-known churches. In addition, Rick is author of the New York Times bestseller The Purpose Driven Life and The Purpose Driven Church, which was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th Century. He is also founder of Pastors.com, a global Internet community for ministers. |
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