Something that God has put on my heart recently is the following - to love God with reckless abandon. That was one of the final things that He showed me during my time on the road with my athletes. Matt Chandler was giving a sermon on the prayers that the pastors and staff at The Village Church pray, and to be honest, that phrase was just one of the many little mini-tangents that he tends follow. In this particular instance, he reigned himself back in pretty quickly and didn't elaborate. He continued on with the sermon, but I hit "pause" because those six little words hit me like a truck. What does it mean to love like that? What does it look like?
To love God with reckless abandon.
I started by looking up the words "reckless" and "abandon". I didn't bother with love because in English, it seems that the word "love" has become something of a junk word to describe lots of different feelings. I love my family, I love food, and I love God, but I don't love those three things the same way. The love that God has for me is something that I will never fully understand as long as I am here on earth. I started by looking up "reckless". According to dictionary.com, to be reckless means to be "utterly unconcerned about the consequences of some action; without caution." Then I moved on to "abandon". To abandon means, "to leave completely and finally; to forsake utterly." Knowing both of these definitions, I returned to praying about the meaning of loving God with reckless abandon. After some really awesome quiet times, I came to understand it to mean forsaking all else, disregarding consequences of that action in order to love, and be loved by, God.
To be honest, I am a do-er. I like rules, fixing things, instructions, plans, boundaries, and maps. The unknown is kind of scary to me. So, God had been so generous as to help me understand the concept of loving Him with reckless abandon, but I waned to know what that looks like. What did I need to do to show that I do love Him like that? I want that, so there must be steps that I can take to get to that point. Ever so gently, God helped me see that my legalistic-loving self was starting to come out. While discipline is good, it is not the answer. He also answered my prayer of understanding what it looks like to love like that. It is not a matter of doing or stuff or things; it is a matter of the heart. Specifically, it is about the posture of the heart. I must be willing to submit to Him, believe in Him, and trust Him.
I must preach myself the Gospel every day. I daily must return to the fact that Christ died on the cross for me. It is ONLY by believing and trusting in Him that I will have a relationship with Him that I desire now. Christ has called me into a relationship with Him, much as He did when He called the disciples from their nets, their tax collection booths, their families, their lives. The action that is required of me is to say, "Yes." I must say yes everyday, to every call, and no to every call that I know is not from God, honoring to God, or completely against what God has called me to do. The actions that result from this daily yes/no dance are a response to God, not a means to reach Him.
To love God with reckless abandon.
I started by looking up the words "reckless" and "abandon". I didn't bother with love because in English, it seems that the word "love" has become something of a junk word to describe lots of different feelings. I love my family, I love food, and I love God, but I don't love those three things the same way. The love that God has for me is something that I will never fully understand as long as I am here on earth. I started by looking up "reckless". According to dictionary.com, to be reckless means to be "utterly unconcerned about the consequences of some action; without caution." Then I moved on to "abandon". To abandon means, "to leave completely and finally; to forsake utterly." Knowing both of these definitions, I returned to praying about the meaning of loving God with reckless abandon. After some really awesome quiet times, I came to understand it to mean forsaking all else, disregarding consequences of that action in order to love, and be loved by, God.
To be honest, I am a do-er. I like rules, fixing things, instructions, plans, boundaries, and maps. The unknown is kind of scary to me. So, God had been so generous as to help me understand the concept of loving Him with reckless abandon, but I waned to know what that looks like. What did I need to do to show that I do love Him like that? I want that, so there must be steps that I can take to get to that point. Ever so gently, God helped me see that my legalistic-loving self was starting to come out. While discipline is good, it is not the answer. He also answered my prayer of understanding what it looks like to love like that. It is not a matter of doing or stuff or things; it is a matter of the heart. Specifically, it is about the posture of the heart. I must be willing to submit to Him, believe in Him, and trust Him.
I must preach myself the Gospel every day. I daily must return to the fact that Christ died on the cross for me. It is ONLY by believing and trusting in Him that I will have a relationship with Him that I desire now. Christ has called me into a relationship with Him, much as He did when He called the disciples from their nets, their tax collection booths, their families, their lives. The action that is required of me is to say, "Yes." I must say yes everyday, to every call, and no to every call that I know is not from God, honoring to God, or completely against what God has called me to do. The actions that result from this daily yes/no dance are a response to God, not a means to reach Him.
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