What the World Needs Now

"I was thinking about how we need to operate in agape love. Love covers!"

People are hurting. Times are not just tough, they are tumultuous. There is fear on every side. Terrors on the outside with divisions on the inside. If you have been following the news or the social media stream you know exactly what I am talking about.

People all over the world read this blog from every walk of life. You are concerned and feel the pain of what is going on firsthand. In our nation we are experiencing things we never would have dreamed of. Some of you are mourning the loss of a friend or the loss of an ideal you have lived by because of the actions of others.

I titled this post "What the World Needs Now" with the old song in mind. We need love. But not just any love. We need agape love. If you aren't familiar with what agape love is let me tell you about it.

Agape is a Greek word for love. It is different than our English word from love in the sense that agape is a very specific type of love. In fact the Greeks had several words they used to describe love. We in our language would say "I love my friends," "I love my spouse," "I love my dog," and "I love nachos" all in the same day. Obviously we do not love nachos the way we love our spouse. Nor do we love our friends like we love our dog. (For some they love their dog more than their friends!)

In the Greek language they had separate words for the different kinds of love. They would use phileo for the friendship type of love. Eros was used for the sensual and romantic type of love. But agape is different. We find that it is entirely a word that was used mostly by the Bible and was used for the love that we as Christians are supposed to have. It is a unique type of love that flows from God the Father.

It was the agape love of the Father that motivated Him to send Jesus to live and die for our sin and salvation. It is the agape love that Jesus lived in that caused Him to touch the unclean and heal them, to stop with a half breed outcast woman by a well and save her soul, and to weep at the death of His friend and raise him from the dead. Jesus is love incarnate because 1 John tells us that "God is love."

God is agape love. It defines Who He is and how He operates. It is this agape love that we are to operate in. It is this agape love from the Father, working through His children, that the world needs. Without it the same problems will keep going on. Division and separation, prejudice and murder will continue without agape love.

When we, God's children, the church of Jesus Christ, come together in love and spread the love of the Father it will tear down the walls of separation. The love of God will show the world that we are His disciples. Our love will be shown in our obedience to the commandments of God and people will see the difference in our lives. This love will compel us to reach out with the Word and power of God. This love will motivate and fuel our prayers for the world and cause us to pray for our enemies and bless those that spitefully use and persecute us.

Agape love is what the world needs now. Love never fails.

Day 303 - The One Percent

"All of us were focusing our attention on the one percent rather than the 99."

Most of what we worry about and fight over is small compared to the big picture. We focus on one percent of the whole picture. That one percent is where our frustrations and fears get the best of us and bring our the worst in us. 

Today I had the opportunity to have a bad day. Lots of meetings, lots of needs, lots of stress. Frame all that with a problem with the sewer lines at my house and that makes for one crappy day in every sense of the word. I didn't let it get to me though. In the midst of all the stuff going on I took time to pray, exercise,  enjoy my children, take in the beauty of a sunset and clouds changing colors over the mountains, talk to a friend, cuddle my wife while watching a show together and get in to the Word of God. When you look at the ninety nine percent versus the one percent it just makes sense to not sweat the small stuff. 

Working with people it is easy to find little things that bug us. Personality quirks or inefficiencies are like sand in your bathing suit. You end up irritated to no end by such little things. It just takes a dip in the ocean or a quick rinse to get rid of the chafing. Similarly all we have to do is wade into God's love and mercy and remember how much He has forgiven us in Christ and it won't be long before we are ready to forgive and love others. 

If we focus on the ninety nine percent we would overlook offenses, promote love and unity and get a lot more done. Just like the oyster that covers the little grain of sand over and over so that it no longer irritates we will find our days to be beautiful pearls to be treasured. 

How can we keep our focus on the ninety nine percent? How do we effectively deal with the one percent? 

Day 246 - Laughter for Life

"It was a good time and we had fun at my expense."

Life can get too serious. In one day between the news and your neighbors every terrible thing can be presented to you. Life needs levity. 

There are pressure releases that God has built into us. He is our greatest pressure release. We can cast our cares on Him in prayer any time. We also have faith filled friends who can be trusted to help us bear burdens that are too great for us. 

I believe that laughter can be a great pressure release. One of the fruits of the Spirit, right after love, is joy. We can laugh and smile because we have the Spirit of God. We can have the joy of our salvation, the joy of the Lord and joy from the Spirit. 

Have a good laugh and see how you feel. I'm not saying to ignore problems. You can face them with a smile because the joy of the Lord is our strength. 

Is there a funny memory you have that when you think of it you laugh? What are some joyful moments in your life? 

Day 183. - It Will Work Itself Out

"I went in to work and got through all my 60+ e-mails from my two days off. I made a point this week to not read or answer my e-mails on my days off. The wonderful thing was that on Monday the office had an issue and wanted some of my time today to deal with the issue. When I got in today there was an e-mail that the situation had worked itself out and there was no need for my involvement. I was thankful I chose to protect my days off and my family time."

There are two important principles here for leaders. First is to give problems the time they need. The second is to protect your family and rest. 

Problems have a way of telling us they are the most important thing and require immediate attention. There are times when a problem should be immediately dealt with. This is not always the case though. I have found that most problems should be given some time. When I have done this I have either seen the problem work itself out or I have been able to step away and pray and get the wisdom of God for the situation. In the end it will be better handled with a thoughtful approach. 

Problems will also try to rob us of our family time and rest. Our family is our first priority after God. God actually equates our care for our family with our salvation. Pretty heavy! We need to be aware of the things that will take from our family time. The job and the problems will come and go. Family is there for the long haul. It would be no good to give attention to problems on the job only to create problems at home. 

Your rest also needs to be protected. If you never turn your brain off the stress will do you harm. God commanded rest for more than just an example, it is actually healthy for us! 

What are some healthy ways to give problems time? How can we guard our family and rest in practical ways? 

Day 12 - Hard Times

"What a rough start to the new year. We are not yet half way through the first month and the tough experiences keep rolling in. Once again I must not let the dark shadow of things that hurt and are painful drown out the light of the glorious goodness of God."

A year after I wrote this the weather today looked like I felt then. Today was cloudy and it rained most of the day. I never saw the sun today because the clouds never gave us a break to see it. Even though it was a cold and rainy day I had no problem driving and looking around outside. Even though I couldn't see the sun I still was able to see from its light.

Problems can bs a lot like that. They come with hurt and pain and seem to overshadow everything that is good in life. What we don't realize is that even on the most stormy circumstances God is lighting the way for us.

I smile when I think of all the experiences Jesus and his disciples had on stormy seas. Think about it; one time Jesus is asleep and they have to wake him up. Another time he walking by and about ready to pass them up while they are struggling. It seems like Jesus doesn't care about the disciples when you look at these two examples on the surface. I know this isn't the case because God loves us and cares deeply for us. What I see here is not a lack of care for the disciples but rather a lack of fear of the storm. How else could he sleep in the midst of a storm? Why else would he be walking by?

If you're in a storm look for the light. God is on your side, you're going to make it through the trial. I did and so will you.

Have you seen the light of God in the midst of a cloudy trial of life?