The only thing evil cannot mimic is love. The magicians of
Pharaoh performed similar signs and wonders to the plagues on Egypt.
Witchdoctors sometimes heal. The powers of darkness can mask as light by
bringing physical wellness. Revelation warns that the Antichrist will raise
from the dead.
I find myself on this journey longing to be a part of
something incredible. I want to see someone raised from the dead, I want to see
something that baffles the senses. I want to be a part of something
supernatural. We get so caught up in signs and wonders, in miracles, in
healings. It is dangerous to worship experience that the powers of darkness can
also perform.
The world is teaching me that it can do some incredible
things too. Evil is even capable of grace, it is capable of wisdom. Only on the
other side of committed do we realize we have been fooled by a grace on
condition and a wisdom grounded in lies.
The miracle of the cross is not that Jesus died and his body
was raised. Evil can do that too. The miracle was that He loved us enough to
die in our place. The miracles of Jesus are not about walking on water or
feeding thousands; nor healing leprosy or disease. The miracle of Jesus is that
He loved the leper, He was united with nature in service to the Lord of
Creation, and He acted out of a love for His Father.
The idea of love has become too saturated in our lives. It
is overused and underperformed. We get excited about healing a broken arm but
not excited about love. We are missing the foundation of what the gospel is all
about.
I am afraid that I am missing miracles. Missing the miracle
of relationship because I want to see the miracle of experience. Missing the
miracle of love because I want to see the miracle of sights beyond my
understanding. But my lack of understanding is the base camp for the gospel,
not its pinnacle. What I most imagine happening is the baseboards of the Kingdom
infrastructure; far from the rooftops.
To be Jesus to orphans in Ecuador, prisoners in Peru,
gangsters in South Africa is not to cast out demons, nor to heal their physical
pains, nor to usher in some incredible sight.
To be Jesus is simply to love.
The only difference between natural and supernatural is how
much we are willing to see. And the only difference between good and evil is
how much trust we put in the promises of the Sovereign Lord. We are fighting a
battle already won. We are missing a gospel already alive as we nobly attempt
to revitalize what is already breathing. There is so much beauty in the world.
So much love. So much faith available. We need to stop being slaves to our
hopes and our perspectives and fall in to celebration of the victorious Jesus.
Our world will change when we love each other. The Kingdom
of Heaven will radiate when we declare its radiance. The Love of God will reign
when we love.
My hope for the second half of the race is to love better.
Nothing about love looks like anything other than Jesus. I want to be on fire
in every moment, because love does not wait for experience, it does not serve
situation. Through the power of Christs love, we can accomplish so much. But
in the power of Christs love, all things are already accomplished. Pray for
me, my team, you, and the body of Christ; that we might learn to appreciate the
miracle of love and the abundant availability of participating in that miracle.
May Christ show us nothing else until we love one another,
because outside of love there really is nothing else.
