“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
– Ephesians 5:1
Christ calls us into a life of surrender and sacrifice and service – but without love, it is all in vain. Over the past couple of years, the Lord has been teaching me a lot about what it means to be a “living sacrifice”. In the past few months, he has been challenging me with this four letter word – LOVE. He is revealing to me that a life of surrender and sacrifice is empty if not motivated by love. Love is a compelling emotion.
As I begin to grasp the truth that I am a dearly loved child of God, my love for my Father grows, so does my hunger to live a surrendered life – not out of duty, but out of love. As love for our Father grows, our love for humanity also intensifies. For me, this love is brought into action though humbling serving those around me. I am reminded of the popular verse found in Corinthians:
“If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.”
-1 Cor 13:3
Even though service has long been a part of my life, I have to admit that I do not know if it has always been motivated by love? Since the world race training in September, we have been challenged to ask for God’s heart. So, I have been asking the Lord “to break my heart with the things that break his heart.”
While this is a relatively easy thing to ask, I think that I am only beginning to grasp the magnitude of this question. Just last week, I returned to Minneapolis for the first time since I had moved back to Iowa. Over the past year, the Lord has been revealing to me his heart for the Philips neighborhood in South Minneapolis. It is the single most diverse neighborhood in the US with over hundred languages spoken in this relatively small area. It is a refuge for numerous immigrants and refugees.
So, last week around 10:00 pm, I passed through this neighborhood (on purpose) on the way to my friends house. As I approached Lake Street – the southern perimeter of Philips, I was stuck with a heaviness that immediately evoked a flood of tears! All I can say is that the Lord showed me a glimpse into his heart – just a glimpse at the love he has for these people tore my heart in two! As I looked out my car door window at the men and women mingling on the sidewalks, I could feel love for them swell deep from inside my heart – only I do not think this love came from me…I think that I experienced an “inch” of love that God feels for His children.
Do I dare continue to ask him “to break my heart with what breaks his heart”? Can my heart handle it? Yet, the invitation stands …”to live a life of love, just as Christ loved us…”. Christ’s love for us was definitely not painless. He loved us to the point of death – he is the ultimate “living sacrifice”.
As children of God, we are all called to LIVE a life of Love. As this love intensifies, so will our desire to LIVE a surrendered life, to be a “LIVING sacrifice” and to LIVE a life of service.
