The fourteenth reading in Outflow has a great reminder on page 134: “God loves the people you love even more than you do – and God is even more invested in reaching them than you are.”
So true. I love Michele and the boys more than I ever thought possible…but even that pales in comparison to how extravagantly God loves them. Even though we can never love people the way God can, we ought to want to and we ought to try to. As we grow closer to Him and our character reflects His character more and more, amazing things are possible:
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her… – Ephesians 5:25
Just imagine if I were to truly love my wife in the same way that Christ loved the church. Imagine if I truly gave everything up for her in the same way that Christ gave everything up for the church. Imagine her reaction if I just sincerely tried to! We’ve all seen glimpses of the outflow that results when we show that kind of unconditional, self-sacrificing love…but imagine if it were the norm.
Imagine if I truly did that with my kids, my neighbors and my co-workers. Imagine if you did it. Imagine if churches were full of people who did it.
Ask God to give you a taste of the love He feels for you, your spouse, your kids, your parents, your neighbors and your co-workers. How would He reach out to them as a result of that love? How can you?
