“Only faith expressing itself in love matters” (Gal.5:6).
“Let all that you do be done in love” (1 Cor. 16:14).
“We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).
“Your love (Lord) is better than life” (Psalm 63:3).
“Perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18).
“Love never fails” (1 Cor. 13:8).
Lord Jesus, I can certainly think about you without thinking about my spiritual father, Jack Miller; but I never think of Jack without thinking of you. No one taught me more about the Gospel, your grace, and a life of love than Jack. Whatever the provocation or situation, I can still hear Jack saying, “Scotty, time to mount another love offensive.”
That is (to paraphrase Jack,) “When life is unfair, circumstances are hard, relationships are messy—instead of getting defensive, go on the offensive. Mount a love offensive.”
Repay harshness with kindness, criticism with humility, indifference with curiosity, coolness with the warmth of Jesus’ love, a history of being failed with a new history of out-loving, out-kind-ing, “out-grace-ing” others all the way Home.
This is so counterintuitive, hard to do, and takes wisdom in more complex situations, Jesus. We are desperate and expectant of your help. May your incomparable, unwavering, inexhaustible, never-failing love change and free us, Lord. Take us further into its height, depth, width, and breadth (Eph.3:18-19). We don’t want our traumas and triggers, heart wounds and real challenges to hold more mastery over us than your grace and Spirit.
Jesus, we love you and others only because you first loved us and still love us. Re-humble, re-gladded, and re-free us to love in our easy, normal, messy, and impossible situations. May we prove the wonders of your love and the sufficiency of your grace all the way Home. So Very Amen.
