Love -a choice or commandment?

Isn't it ironic that the more I mature in my faith, the more questions I have. To add to the irony, even with all these questions I am very much at peace with the answer "I don't know" and the truth that I will probably never know, this side of eternity.
I used to be concerned that having questions meant I was questioning my faith and in turn questioning God. I now realize, there is nothing further from the truth. The more I reckon I do not know, the more I realize how big, how sovereign, how beyond my comprehension the God of this Universe is. And it gives me great relief. It is good to know that the "Guy-in-charge" is all that and more :)
The reason I share this is because when this "beyond my comprehension" God asks me to love someone I really don't want to love, it is no longer a matter of choice, it is a matter of obedience.
We may like to believe that we get to choose how God should be, but the truth is, the only choice we really have  is to believe in Him or not. Once we have made that choice, we do not get to choose which of His commandments we follow or what about His character we agree with.
 Once you have made the choice to follow Him, the rest is a walk in obedience to Him.
In all honesty, is it really hard to love a just and true God? Is it hard to follow his commandments? In my opinion, it may take a little swallowing of the ego, but His commandments to "Love God with all your heart, mind and soul and love your neighbor like yourself" is as easy as it gets. It doesn't mean that we easily get it right, but at the end of the day, we will always know of the right choice, the right thing to do - LOVE.

The power of forgiveness

Last week we had the most blessed opportunity to host a few boys from the Watoto Restore tour in our home. Check out their story at www.restourtour.org. I do not exaggerate by a bit when I say it was life changing for me and I think safe to assume it was the same for Gody.
Their story is one of great triumph; not just because they are now physically free from the tyranny of the LRA but because I could sense their spiritual freedom from their past that I could only assume haunts them day and night. Almost every other night, on this tour, they publicly announce forgiveness to those who have slain their families, stolen years of their lives, physically harmed them and cost their country a great deal. How were they able to do that?
How was Ali, one of the boys I got to know better over the couple of days, able to forgive the man who killed his father? How were the young women able to forgive those who gang raped them and forced them in to an early life of motherhood? how were the little kids able to forgive those who took the lives of their parents?
They were a live example to an invaluable lesson of life. When you forgive someone, you are not only letting that person free, more importantly you are freeing yourself from hoarding within you ill feelings of despair, hate, contempt, revenge and thereby losing the power to love. The power of forgiveness!!!
Wow! from the mouths of babes...

Love Challenge #5

1 Corinthians 13 v 4 - 7. It reads:
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."


"It (love) does not boast"


I have been writing about love and the need for love in this world. I have been encouraging you (or at least I hope I am) to do random acts of kindness, be more expressive about your love and step out of your comfort zone to bring love into this world. If you have been trying some of these things you might be a little giddy about the reactions and results from your actions. People appreciate feeling loved. And this may result in us getting a little haughty, prideful or even boastful. It is interesting that this verse reads ..."love does not boast.."
 A lot of times we are easily sucked into the world of recognition. We tend to thrive on it. We do a few good things, charitable acts, kind deeds and then we can't stop talking about it.  I get it. I really do. I enjoy a pat on the back as much as the next guy. I know it feels good to be recognized for the things that we do. However, the need for recognition can easily become the purpose of the very act itself and that is where we fail. Our actions are no longer selfless, God-driven and edifying. Our acts might still produce result, someone or many may still benefit from it and it can still produce change around us. However, in God's eyes there is much more to our love than meets the eye. The purpose of our hearts, the intent behind the action matters to God. Why? Because he is doing a work in us through it. He is working on our hearts, changing us into who we need to be to fulfill our purpose.
The truth is that most of the time it is not our intention to be boastful or be recognized for what we do. We just get sucked  into that world. 
So, here is my challenge for you (and me):
A good litmus test is to do a sacrificial act of love and never EVER tell anyone (not even your spouse). By sacrificial I mean something that costs you dearly...not necessarily money...it could be time, talent, ego..but go outside your comfort zone...something you won't usually do.  Something that affects you.
It is hard but not impossible.  As we curb the urge to tell, we  are instilling God like character within ourselves.