The theme….walk in love. I’ve been studying the scriptures all summer with regards to this one command. In our society, we think love has to involve warm, fuzzy feelings and firm compatibility. No so. We are called to love even when we disagree, with compassion. And we can love total strangers with our actions, our heart and spirit. It is such a treasure.
Melissa Irwin´s last blog ..If I Had a Dime for Every Rhyme

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Good thoughts pete. I think one of the reasons people like to use the list you gave at the beginning because they can go “check” “check” as hey check of the list and feel good about having “done” their religion. But it is scary to involve ourselves in relationships that cost something. (Jesus said something about that didn’t He?) Your suggestion takes some serious soul searching. Good post Pete.
bill (cycleguy)´s last blog ..Skewed Values

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Thank you for saying that. I think so many times we’re quick to judge on where a person is in their spiritual walk by some of their lifestyle choices that, in the long run, don’t mean a hill of beans when compared to their love for their Lord and their love for the neighbor.

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More and more convinced, that if “that which is of first importance” (1 Co 15) gets “old,” the heart of love (and inherent obedience) gets “cold”
Jack Hager´s last blog ..Decision Making Ala Ben Franklin

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I enjoyed your talk about this topic last night and it got me to thinking.

How spiritual would we think we were if we did not have church or church related activities in our lives?

In other words, strip away everything that our society has become to accept as spiritual and what would we have left.

Would God still be there?

He was there a lot less than I would have liked for Him to be when I applied that thought to my life.
Harold´s last blog ..Isaias Gabriel – Making The Difference in the DR

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I read a tweet from someone in your church yesterday quoting you saying “Spiritual maturity is measured in relationships” and I did not know exactly what to think. Relationships don’t come easily to me and it bothered me to think why God would create someone to naturally relate better with others and thus become more “mature” and others he places at a disadvantage.

Reading your blog post I agree with you that how much one loves God by loving others IS a mark of spiritual maturity, and some would even say it’s a mark of a true Christian.
Torybee´s last blog ..Tradition or Technology?

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Hmmm…for some reason I am wondering now if I really believe that the things you listed are not inherently wrong. I think some of them might be–especially paying for indulgences.

Harold’s comment is resonating with me. I stopped going to church a couple of years back. I’m part of a small Bible study group that meets each week in a church. But since I stopped going to church services, it seems there’s less static on the Holy Spirit radio station.

I’m not saying every one should jump on the same path I’m on. It’s just that I’ve learned so much about the forest, the poison ivy, where the best berries are, what to do if you spot a grizzly, the best shelters in storms, how to give first aid, etc. on this kind of journey. I’ve had only the compass (the Word), the North Star (the three-in-one God), a few fellow travelers who agree to meet up every now and then, and my own NEED to figure out how to survive and how to thrive.

I think I have learned more that way than if I would have stuck with the pack and our trail guides–who really are a highly enthusiastic and brilliant and fun group– but are really not that much different than me (except they get paid for hitting the trail.)

Thanks for the reminder that our journey toward spiritual maturity is all about love. Whether we travel in a pack or solo, we should try to greet those we meet with grace and peace and a desire to see them the way God does–as valuable image bearers and loved ones.

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@Harold, great question.

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Well said, Pete. Right on target. (Melissa I., and others, you too.)

I like the way Greg Boyd sums up “agape” love, the New Testament word for how we’re to love both God and our neighbors: “not a feeling one has … rather a commitment one makes, a stance one takes toward another, and an activity one does … a kind of love you can have … when the other is your enemy … the kind of love God had for us while we were yet sinners and the kind of love we are commanded to have toward all others. It is the kind of love God was aiming at in creating the world.” (Boyd, Repenting of Religion; Turning from Judgment to the Love of God. Baker, 2004.)

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@Anna, I would like to know as well. Great song.
WesHoward´s last blog ..Power of Mud (2 of 2)

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Maybe I should say I hope I learn to love my neighbor as myself. I certainly haven’t learned it yet.

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Good word. Keeping ourselves in check.
Joey´s last blog ..Daddy, Do You Remember….

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Now…the trick is defining what Love God and Love People means. Who wants to take that one on?
kc´s last blog ..For those who are in a Battle

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This hits home. I’m living on the other side of that all important “it” list and am grateful for His grace. His willingness to teach me how to really love others (not just those that already claim Him as Lord) has been life-altering.
Jessica´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday (Almost)

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“In other words Jesus said, spiritual maturity is measured in the context of relationships.”

I totally agree with this, but the real challenge to me comes later in Luke 10 when Jesus is asked “Who is my neighbor?” and Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan. The neighbors that God is calling us to love are not the people that we are most comfortable with. They are not the people that go to our church nor are they the people that are like us. God calls us to love outside our comfort zone – just like the Samaritan did. To me, that is the real challenge. I can love my small group quite easily. I can love my family and friends without working too hard. The hard part is that God calls us to reach beyond what is comfortable and love who we might consider to be the “unlovable.” That calls me to prayerfully consider, “Who is my neighbor?”

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I was just mentioning yesterday over lunch that I felt like I had been raised on a checklist of do’s and do nots. That Chritianity was always a list and never a lifestyle for me… God is transforming that view for me through Cross Point.

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I’m about to be as transparent as you can be in the anonymity of the internet and say, I suck at this. I have such an issue with people (fear) that dealing with them nearly sends me into an anxiety attack. Ok, a lot of times it does send me into an anxiety attack. I haven’t even figured out how to love me, let alone my neighbor. Funny, but church is the area of one of my greatest struggles. Oy. Sundays are one of the hardest days of my week. I’m working on it, but at this point, I would fail the outward and the inward stuff. It’s hard to love someone when you are not even able to speak to them and touch them? NOT EVEN gonna happen. Sigh, sometimes this walking it out stuff is ridiculously hard when I can sit here and picture Him and His power and glory and know it shouldn’t be this hard.

If I am going to continue being honest, which God only knows why I am putting all of this out here, I would probably be one of those that is hard to love. I know that everything about me screams do not disturb because as someone reminded me today, I have walls up everywhere. Thing is, I want to be loved. I want to believe He could love me. I sooooooooooo want to be able to love others. I just don’t know anymore if it’s ever going to happen or if I’m just stuck.

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Pete-I suppose a thousand blogs wouldn’t scratch the surface but how about….
Love God = listening and obeying over and over again
Love People = being open and available to move into someone’s life in any manner God directs.
kc´s last blog ..For those who are in a Battle

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I am not feeling all that loving right now. Actually, I am kind of in the middle of a temper tantrum. I feel trapped by a body that just doesn’t cooperate with what I want to do when. Then, I feel trapped by my circumstances-which is where I think my place of ministry is right now-my home. Instead of wanting to love on those people right now, I just want to make them all go away. It certainly isn’t convenient that’s for sure. But then, I guess Jesus’ sacrifce wasn’t all that convenient either? I am physcially fatigued yet plagued with insomnia. I have a 22 month old and a three year old who will be awake in about 3-4 hours and I have yet to be asleep. Will I get a nap tomorrow? Probably not.

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Thanks, Pete. I know I am on the right path to getting where I need to be, but sometimes the process seems to take sooooo long. I just am so thankful that He is more patient than I am.

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