Do one thing every day that scares you. —Eleanor Roosevelt
I can think of lots of warm and fuzzy ways to let love happen. One of my favorite ways to let love happen is to show my kids how precious they are to me. I love to engage. I love to just spend time with them. I love to put that one special something under the Christmas tree and watch them unwrap it. Letting love happen toward my kids gives me the warm fuzzies.
There are other people in my life who are easy to love too. Letting love happen toward my wife is warm fuzzies all around. Letting love happen toward my staff is incredibly rewarding too.
But what about the people in our lives who are difficult to love? What about the people who criticize us and our families? What about the people who don’t think the same way we think or live the way we live?
Letting love happen toward them isn’t nearly as easy or fun… at least not at first. Frankly, it’s a little scary. What if people mistake your love as permission to keep doing what they’re doing, or living the way they’re living?
Church, we’re scared of this, aren’t we?
I’m going to tell you a secret: Trust Jesus and let love happen. That’s the one thing—the only thing—that matters today.
The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. (Galatians 5:6, emphasis mine)
How would the gay community feel about the Church if the Church learned to trust Jesus and let love happen toward them?
How many arguments would be diffused if we released the need to defend ourselves and just trusted Jesus and let love happen?
How many believers are locked into cycles of sin because they are afraid to open up and be real? How many people would be set free if we just trusted Jesus and let love happen? If we let go of the need to fix and identify and correct, and we embraced the call to trust Jesus and let love happen?
And how about you? What would your life look like today if you trusted Jesus and let love happen?
Lord, it’s hard to let Your love happen after I sin. I want to fix myself and then return to You. It’s hard to love others in the midst of their sin. I want to fix them and then present them—and my accomplishment—to You. Forgive me for my arrogance. I want to trust, Lord. I want to trust so I can love today. I can’t do this on my own. Create new trust in me, right now, so I can let love happen. Amen.