A "Hole" Lot of Love

As I watched out my window this week I was amazed as tractors and bulldozers dug the hole for the foundation of our next building. There are plenty of spiritual parallels such as; “Your life is only as strong as the foundation you’re building on”, or “the higher you want to go the deeper your foundation must be”, all pointing to the truth that building a life on the foundation, the solid rock of Christ is crucial. But one thought that kept echoing in my head was "that’s a 'hole' lot of love".

In this year of learning to love I am reminded of how much God is teaching me about his love; the kind of love that is sacrificial, compassionate, focused on the needs of others. Through the men and women of The Fellowship, our community is seeing love in action. You’ve probably heard me say, “we’re not building a monument, we’re building an instrument”, well this next building represents one of the ways in which we are loving our neighbors, friends, children, youth and so many others who are longing and looking for a place to find God. So when I see that hole outside my window, I see something more than just a pit, I see love and the heart of a church desires for God to make it a blessing to the community. The journey has just begun, there’s no turning back so let’s give, sacrifice and build on a foundation of Christ’s love for all.

Learning to Love in 2008

"Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." Ephesians 5:1-2

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Francis Schaeffer's dictate in Mark of the Christian, "Because a man is a man, he is to be loved at all cost." Christ gave love priority over all other Christian virtues. "This is the message you heard form the beginning: We should love one another" 1 John 3:11

Yet in the fast paced life we live, we have yet to learn how to fully love in all of it's pain and pleasure. C.S. Lewis wrote "To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to be sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one - not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safely in the casket or the coffin of your selfishness. But, in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, unredeemable. The only place outside heaven where you can be safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love, is hell."

This Sunday begins my journey for the next 52 weeks. I am learning to live a life of love! I hope that you will join me weekly as we share this journey.