HARD LOVE

It has literally been forever since I have blogged, and this will probably not be a long post.  Project has hit me hard.  Between work, project meetings, going out to explore the city and wanting to spend time in the Word I have had little down time.  But I am not complaining! God is teaching me to use my time wisely.  Instead of going to hang out with friends after meetings, going to bed early and spending time reading my Bible has been something that has not been easy. 

Though time management has been a serious struggle this past week the Lord has revealed so much of His characters to me.  He has revealed so much about my Identity (ironically this is the project theme for the week).  My identity is rooted who God is and who the Holy Spirit is changing me to be through sanctification.  I have learned a lot about how God is a judge and though He has graciously redeemed me from all of my sin, I am still so accountable for the way that I live for Him now.  He has showed to me that as a child of the King, I am to loving be a slave to the One who first loved me.  

On that note, my roommates and I have been interested and learning about all of the forms love that are in the Bible.  There are three actually, I know! how crazy is that, all the English language has for us is L-O-V-E.  So we found these three types of love and they are eros, phileo and agapao.  Eros is the love passionate and much more like lust and desire we use this a lot when referring to relationships.  The second is the type of love most used in our society. It is the "fluffy" love.  This is how we usually want to love God, because it is based off of emotions.  It is easy to love something with Phileo.  But the best love, the love that explains the way that God loves us is, Agapao.  Agapao is NOT easy.  God is love (agapao) and He sacrificed His live for us knowing that we would refuse Him because of His agapao love.  Agapao means loving someone with no personal gain involved.  This is the way that God has called us to love Him and others (Mark 12).  

Applying this to project, I have learned that I am called to give this love to others by presenting the gospel to the people around me.  We do not share with any personal gain, but because we love God and He is glorified in our obedience.  Knowing this truth that God is love and this love means to cast my self image and reputation aside for the love of Christ, evangelism in Chicago has become much less about how I present myself to others and more about how God can be glorified.  

Yeah, so that is just a small taste of who God is molding me here in Chicago.  He is doing big things here! Can't wait to see all that He has for this body of believers.