I often daydream of how I would have done things differently if God were to give me the gift of going back to a certain point in time with the wisdom I now have. As I was doing this, the Holy Spirit helped me to realize that love is the most important aspect of this whole endeavor of transformation.
I've heard Joyce Meyer pose the question, "What if every Christian in the world lived like Christ?" And, even now, just thinking about that makes me pause and catch my breath. What would happen if I lived every second I have left here like Christ? The first people that come to mind are Kay Hendrix, Pastor Keith Jones, and Ricky Hendon. But I have such a long list of mentors God has graciously placed in my life that I could probably go on for days. And the common thread through each one is their unwavering ability to just love.
Love by the world's standards has become so twisted and convoluted that many have come to doubt that there is such a thing as real love. And that is exactly what the devil wants. Love, real love, that is powerful and life-changing requires the one giving it to usually make some sort of sacrifice. Not always, but usually. And very few today would honestly say that sacrifice is something that he/she would do willingly.
But that's what Jesus did. He gave everything - and I mean everything - up to take on a flesh suit and become a human so that He could lay His life down and buy us back exactly where each of us are at this very second. Love.
So, if God Himself can take on every sin of every human that ever was born or will be born, then what kind of example does that set for me? I am His creation, created in His glorious image, and given free will which sets me apart from every other creation on this planet. My transformation must be rooted in this kind of love, God's love for me.
Will it be easy? No. I've watched Pastor Keith Jones and Ricky Hendon. I've listened to Tammy Harvey and Kay Hendrix and Joyce Meyer and Kenneth Copeland and Pastor Joseph Prince and SO many others. Love is the most difficult thing that I can change about myself because a Christ-like love requires that I keep my eyes/mind off me and keep them focused on everyone and everything else around me. It requires that I esteem (set a high value on) all others more than myself. It means not being worried about "What about me?" but thinking "What about him/her/them?"
So, today is where I began that part of this journey. Will I fall? Absolutely. I am human and I fall short of the glory of God requiring me to seek our my Savior. Thank God I have Jesus Who has already conquered the world. My objective here is not that I do it perfectly, but I strive for perfection perfectly. And that means never giving up. Running the race. Facing the failures but learning from them so that I don't make the same mistake again.
I'm coming out of the wilderness and marching/running into the promised land. And I can see my heavenly Father running to meet me just as the father did when he finally saw his prodigal son returning, beaten down and worn by the world because of the bad choices and selfish decisions he had made.
Why do I believe this? Because I believe that it's God's desire that not one of us perish. It's His desire to bless each and every one of us. I am His and nothing - NOTHING - can ever snatch me from His hand. And it all starts with love.
So, my prayer is that today, I will love more freely, deeper, and more selflessly than I ever have before. I've written this in a journal of daily confessions that I have started. It's my hope that by the 365th day of this journey, maybe, just maybe, someone somewhere will be impacted by this tiny flutter of my butterfly wings and invite God in to radically change his/her life forever.
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