Love, you can’t live without it, I guarantee it.
“I[Love] have come that they may have life, and have it to
the full.” (John 10:10)
I’ve had a lot of questions growing up in my faith, a few of
which include: what is this war supposedly going on? How am I supposed to fight
in it? How do I move mountains or do anything miraculous for Jesus’ glory? How
do I love? I’ve found some answers…
I’ve talked a little bit about love in one of my other blogs, and I discussed how to grow in love, but I didn’t really describe
how to show that love through your life, and the reason was because I wasn’t
honestly sure how. I understood that “love is kind. It does not envy, it does
not boast, it is not proud…” (1 Corinthians 13), but I didn’t understand why
love was that way, what was the point, why care, and how to show it? Am I
loving because I’m told to or because I want to? But even more than that, am I
loving because I want to or because there’s a reason I want to? Yes I’m
suggesting there’s an ulterior motive in loving people, but it’s not for my
gain.
After searching I feel the Lord has given me the answer to
how to love, and it’s by fighting. Even before I started the race, way back at
training camp, people were prophesying over me that I was a warrior, which the
Lord also made very clear to me in India, but I never truly understood what
kind of warrior I was supposed to be. I mean what is a spiritual warrior
anyway? Is it someone who prays intently in the spirit at all times and drives
out demons and heals people? Yes, actually that is part of it. I understood
what I was fighting, the forces of The Enemy, but I didn’t know what I was
fighting for, and no it’s not love, it’s the origin of love: the heart. A
spiritual warrior fights for the hearts of men. Love is one of our weapons we
use to fight for the hearts of people along with the Sword of the Spirit. Every
time we do a kind gesture in love towards someone it’s war on the enemy
fighting for the heart of that person, and every time we do evil we find ourselves
fighting for the wrong side. Yes, you can actually think of it like that. Now
we mess up and fall short, but there is something you need to know if you have
a relationship/love affair with the King of kings, your heart is good. “He
made no distinction between us and them, for he [Jesus] purified their hearts by faith.” (Acts 15:19). When we
mess up we often jump to “I’m a terrible person, how could a good person do
that?” That’s a lie the enemy is yelling in our ears. Just remember your heart
truly is good because the Lord has replaced your old heart with a new one in
which he resides. “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you
with power in your inner being, so that Christ
may dwell in your hearts through faith.” (Ephesians 3:16-17). Who you are isn’t bad, just that one action.
Turn against the devil and cast him out, don’t listen to his lies a second
longer.
Society puts a great deal of emphasis on the heart, but the
picture’s been skewed, misarranged like a jumbled puzzle with pieces missing.
Most people including me don’t fully understand the importance of their heart
and what it can even do. Did you know your heart does more than feel? “But Mary
treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19) Mary
was thinking with her heart about the shepherds spreading word of what the
angels said to them concerning her child. I know that sounds confusing, but the
point is this: she was thinking with her heart! We’ve been
dooped! There are many other examples too, but the point is I’ve been fed a lie
my whole life that only feelings and emotions come from my heart. Movies,
music, literature and others all put so much emphasis on the importance of
following your heart and feeling boldly, but there is so much more that the heart
can do. The heart is a home. It’s where the Lord resides in us if we know him.
We can think, communicate, and feel with our hearts. We talk to the Lord with
our hearts. The Lord doesn’t look at people’s actions; he looks at the heart.
“Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1
Samuel 16:7). The Lord cares about our bodies and he wants us to be healthy,
but he will put us through pain and suffering in order to get our hearts
healthy and centered with him, just read the whole book of Job. The Enemy knows
the importance of the heart and he’s working overtime to imprison our hearts,
yes even believer’s hearts. Just because you believe in Christ doesn’t make it
all easy sailing, we have to fight for our hearts, luckily we have a man who
has all power and authority in heaven and on earth also fighting for our
hearts. The best weapon the devil has right now in my opinion against our
hearts is the lie that our hearts are only for emotions and feelings. If that
is all your heart is good for you are ensnared. Your heart isn’t free and you
can’t do all the Lord requires of you. Ask him to first show you the importance
of your heart and what it can do, and then ask him to free you. Ask the Lord to
show you the lies you’ve believed about your heart and then demand freedom from
the devil and cast him out in Jesus name.
I know now the rest of my life is focused on one task, fight
for the hearts of people. Did you know you are your heart? “As water reflects the face, so a man’s
heart reflects the man.” (Proverbs 27:19). When people see your actions and
hear your words they don’t see what you were thinking about saying or doing,
but what your heart wanted. We are a reflection of our hearts. If you’re not
seeking Christ, then your heart is most likely seeking the world. We are not
our minds, they just help us process and take in information; we are our hearts. God cares more for you
heart than even you do and he’s willing to die for it. He didn’t send his Son
to die for our bodies, but for our hearts. God puts it this way: “Above all
else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” (Proverbs 4:23).
Before you do anything else on this earth in any way, the Lord tells us to
guard our hearts. Do you see how important our hearts are to him. Before we
eat, before we find shelter, before we buy groceries, etc. we guard our hearts.
How do you guard your heart? Same way you guard anything of value, keep it
protected in a safe place. That safe place is in the Lord’s hands. We keep our
hearts directed toward him and he will keep us safe, not physically always, but
spiritually.
We love by fighting. Love
is an act of war. We fight the Enemy. We fight for hearts. We
guard our hearts in the Lord. Amen.
