Overwhelmed
That’s the ultimate feeling I have in this moment.
Overwhelmed by the darkness of this world.
Overwhelmed by the spiritual world.
Overwhelmed by the lack of interest in the spiritual world.
Overwhelmed by the brokenness of this world.
Overwhelmed by the facade.
Overwhelmed by the western world.
Overwhelmed by the task at hand.
Overwhelmed by God.
Overwhelmed by His presence.
Overwhelmed by His power.
Overwhelmed by His relentlessness.
Overwhelmed by His furious love.
Furious love is a documentary that I’ve just watched and experienced for the first time and this is where I’m at-in a complete state of being overwhelmed, broken, and fired up all at the same time.
This documentary forces you to open your eyes to the spiritual realm, the darkness, and the war that we are fighting everyday. It forces you to see Jesus’ furious love and the fact that love is what He has called us all to.
It made me realize that love is the greatest weapon we have against satan. God has beckoned us to love from day one. In Galatians 5:14 it says, “For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'” Where there is love, there is Jesus, and where there is Jesus, there is light, and where light is, no darkness can reside, and therefore, satan has no power where love is.
This documentary made me realize the importance and the power we have when we love like Jesus loves, I mean, truly love-recklessly, purposefully, purely.
In the movie, one of the pastors that they interviewed told a story about a vision God had given him. God showed him a church and inside the church were all sorts of “bad” people: prostitutes, drug dealers, gang bangers. These people were inside of the church and they were selling drugs to each other, doing drugs, having sex in the pews, and so on. The pastor said that in the vision he was angry and he told the people that if they were going to defile the church like that then they needed to get out, they needed to leave. Then Jesus said to him, “Why are you telling them to leave? You asked for the lost people, why would you turn away the people you asked for, the people I love, the people I sent here?”
And isn’t that what we do so often everyday? We ask for “those people” and God puts them in our lives and instead of loving the lost we count them as “unworthy” of our time, our energy, and our love. And that’s wrong. Maybe we think they aren’t worth it or they’re too far gone…but we have no authority to put that on them, we have no right to put that on them. We have no power to judge our brothers and sisters. We have not been given that authority-but the authority we have been given-to love-we choose to not exercise, or only exercise in moments when we “feel like it” or moments that we deem worthy or necessary. Where in the Bible does it say that we have a choice to love people based on whether we want to or not? I’ll tell you where: it doesn’t. No where in the Bible does it say we get to choose who we love and when we love them.
In Matthew 5:12-13 Jesus says, “…’Healthy people don’t need a doctor-sick people do.’ Then He added, ‘Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.'”
I think we, as the church, need to re-learn the meaning of this scripture too. I think we need to re-learn, or simply learn, what love really is. Not love that is dependent on what others do for us, or love that is present or not present because of who someone is or isn’t, not love that comes around when we feel like it. But the pure, genuine, sacrificial, I-was-nailed-to-a-cross-to-save-your-souls kind of love. The kind of love that when a criminal, hanging on a cross next to Jesus, in each of their last moments said, “remember me when you come into your Kingdom”, Jesus didn’t reply with “No, you’re a criminal-a bad person-not worthy…”, no Jesus didn’t say that. You know what He did say? He said, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Through eyes of love, Jesus, in His most miserable moments here on earth, still had enough love in Him for a criminal. God is love and we are called to bear the image of Christ, we are called to bear the image of love.
Am I getting through to anyone here? Is God stirring your heart right now? Let Him, don’t silence it. Let Him convict you-He sure as heck convicted me and re-broke my heart for this broken and dark world through this…and I’m so thankful.
I get it. Sometimes it’s hard to love-I hear you on this. It’s hard to love the rebels invading African villages and killing and capturing little babies to train them to kill, it’s hard to love the Separatists in the Ukraine that shot down a civilian Malaysian plane, it’s hard to love the bully at school that won’t stop hurting you, and the football jock that knocks your books out of your hands everyday. I hear you. But, friends, I’m reminded of a quote by Martin Luther King, Jr. who said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
I’m also reminded of Paul. I’m reminded of how God’s love compelled Paul to do things that naturally, without God’s love, he would never do. In 2 Corinthians 5:11-16 Paul states, “Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this too. Are we commending ourselves to you again? No, we are giving you a reason to be proud of us, so you can answer those who brag about having a spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart. If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive His new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know Him now!”
And as Christians, we believe in the Bible. We believe what it says. It’s not some hood ornament or table decor. We believe that it’s truth and it’s the inspired word of God. So why are we not taking it seriously? Take this Scripture, for example. Because Paul has been given the Holy Spirit, God’s love controls him and he is no longer able to live for himself, selfishly. The love that God has given him in his heart controls all that he does. He no longer has a “human agenda” or mindset. He has an eternal mindset and that’s what we need to strive for. We, as Christians, need to strive for that eternal mindset. My charge to you is the same charge Paul had for the Corinthians: let God’s love control you and allow God to use you as His chosen instrument to bring His lost children back home.
2 Corinthians 6:6-“We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love.”
Romans 13:8-“Owe nothing to anyone-except for your obligation to love one another.”
I could go on and on. There are so many scriptures in the Bible that talk of love and the power love has. But let’s get back to the point. Furious Love, this crazy, eye-opening, heart-stirring, passionate documentary that delves into the all too real spiritual world and battle that we are fighting daily. I’m urging you to love radically because love is what conquers the devil. Satan isn’t just some “guy” that is a pain in our necks. He is all too real and his demons are raging through this earth, claiming lives and binding and torturing people daily. He is responsible for the darkness in this world-we are responsible for bringing the light. It seems like a daunting task, but with Jesus we need not fear satan and his demons. Those places, where the darkness creeps-we need to have courage to dive into those places and bring the love that is Christ inside of us. We need to expose the evil deeds done in the darkness.
Until we start seeing the battle for what it truly is, we will never understand the true urgency of the gospel and the real need for love.
I’m starting to feel like I’m talking in circles, but I hope you’re hearing my heart and I pray that God is revealing to you what it is I’m trying to get across: the fact that true love is the strongest weapon we have to fight satan in this war.
I urge you to watch Furious Love and ask God to open your heart, mind, and eyes to the battle. I pray that you are convicted, check yourself, and ask God to replace your superficial love with His sacrificial love. And I pray that He sets your heart on fire for something that is so much bigger than yourself.
