“There is a concept in chemistry called the ‘limiting capacity.’ An eight ounce cup can only hold eight ounces of liquid. If the bottom of an eight ounce cup is broken off, however, the limiting capacity is no longer a factor; that cup is capable of having an entire ocean poured through it. This concept of limiting capacity applies similarly to people who are not yet broken by God. God’s boundless and limitless love can be given to us and through us – as long as our posture is that of brokenness.”
– Spiritual Simplicity, Christopher L. Heuertz
The concept of “limiting capacity” makes so much sense and, honestly, is a no brainer, right? I mean, obviously an eight ounce cup can only hold eight ounces. And obviously when you cut the bottom off of the cup all the liquid can flow straight through it. You could literally pour all the water in the world through that one cup. But what happens when we relate this to our own lives? How do we respond to this “no brainer,” then?
My response was sort of an “ah ha!” moment. Walking through the intimacy I have been experiencing with Jesus and diving deeper and deeper every day into what it looks like to be the Bride of Christ, I had been feeling this intense sense that the love I feel and experience every day isn’t meant just for me. If I am completely honest with you, sometimes I would get angry with Jesus because of the physical separation we currently have as he is sitting to the right of Papa. The love I feel is often far too much for me to carry. It’s heavy and it’s intense. It’s a love-sickness. Maybe this sounds over the top and kind of “out there” for you, but I can assure you I am not out of mind. It’s real.
This love is real.
So, as I sat there frustrated and wondering what to do with all this crazy love (see what I did there? thanks Fran Chan), I came across Heuertz’s quote in his incredible book, Spiritual Simplicity (a must read if you want to get down to the core of Christian spirituality and do away with the obnoxious fluff). It struck me that I am not supposed to keep the love to myself. It’s not meant to be kept a secret or hidden. Now, duuuuh is probably what you are thinking. Yea, that’s kind of what I thought too.
But, here’s the thing, it’s not that easy! In order to live from what is called “the overflow” we must be broken and experience what it is to live in a constant place of brokenness. Brokenness is not necessarily the worst thing ever, though. One of my favorite definitions of broken is the following: the state of having an uneven and rough surface. It’s not a place of being all shiny and perfect; brokenness is a place of being rough around the edges and in need of the outpouring of love from Jesus. Being broken means that we can relate to the rest of the humans we share space with. Why would you ever want to do life with someone who makes you feel like crap because they are so… “perfect”? Reality check: no one is perfect. Therefore, if you aren’t broken, I’m going to go ahead and ask you to check yourself. Maybe you aren’t being real with yourself, or maybe you need to humble yourself before out loving Father and repent for thinking you have it all together.
I digress. Brokenness. I am growing to like brokenness. I think I even welcome it at this point! It makes us relatable and vulnerable to those around us. When they see our cracks and rough edges, we immediately become approachable, right? When we tear down the front of being “perfect” and admit that we don’t have it all together, we are, in a sense, welcoming others into our space where they can find comfort, solace, and LOVE. This is where the beauty of brokenness happens: when we are broken in community.
Recently, I met a woman in Penang, Malaysia who had been traveling around the world by herself for fourteen months and she still had a ways to go. Her name was Amanda and we talked over a glass of wine. One of her initial statements was, “Wow, you’re the first Christian I’ve met who drinks.” Honestly, I was honored, haha! But that’s a whole different conversation. Amanda, Jackie and I started talking about religion and Jackie shared her story of brokenness, shared the redemptive story of Jesus in her life, and then admitted that she was still broken but had grace and love. Later that night, at a worship service that I invited Amanda to (and she came!), I got to share parts of my own story and reveal my own rough edges and cracks. It was a beautiful time of watching to love of the Father literally seep out of me and overflow into Amanda’s heart. “I’ve never felt such peace and love in my life,” Amanda said.
Here’s the thing, I don’t want to live in my human capacity anymore. I want to live beyond myself. One of my favorite verses is 1 John 4:4: He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. Jesus is huge. I am not. Jesus is love and grace and compassion. I am none of those things without him. So, if I want to live beyond my human capacity, I need to live out more compassion and love and grace. I love what Erwin McManus said, “I don’t want to come to the end of my life and discover that there was greater capacity in me but there was never greater compassion. So many of us want God to be generous with us, but we don’t want to be generous with God.”
I feel like I need to write “SELAH” and leave you chewing on that for a few moments before moving on….
Living a life beyond the limiting capacity means that we give more to God to become completely empty and broken and overcome by His love, and then in turn he gives us more compassion and love to leak and seep into others. We give, God takes, and then God gives it back ten fold only for us to give it all away again. McManus says “there has always been more in us than we can bring to life. We have to give Jesus everything in order to live beyond capacity!” That’s the way the Kingdom works.
Maybe you are asking God to trust you with more. But maybe He is saying in return, “My son, give ME more.” How much are you allowing yourself to be broken by our loving Father? Do you want to see Jesus work greater things in you and move you to life beyond your limiting capacity? Give into the breaking and give Him everything. Let his ocean of love be poured through your being over and over and over again. Live out of brokenness and the unconditional love of Papa, and watch people flock to you because they taste and see that the Lord is good.
I will leave you with one more quote from Erwin McManus:
“When you get more of God in you, people are going to want more of you in their lives.”
That is the beginning of living beyond your limiting capacity.
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One more thing: I’ve heard it said that fasting is creating a bigger space in your heart for the Spirit to dwell. If you want to live beyond limiting capacity I would suggest fasting regularly. Here is a link to some great information about biblical fasting, why it’s important, and what it looks like in the 21st century: link. Mike Bickle also wrote an awesome book called “The Rewards of Fasting” that is an in-depth look at biblical fasting and the call of the Bridegroom into a fasted lifestyle. Also, check out Erwin McManus’s podcast called “Living Beyond Capacity.” It’s a solid listen.
