Love Without Fear: Everybody Always

I just finished reading the new book by Bob Goff entitled "Everybody Always".

First let me tell you I highly recommend this read, but my recommendation comes with a warning: You're going to hate it. Wait, what? You read correctly; this book is about to get "all up in your business". It is a complete paradigm shift in your thinking about the way we think as Christians we are called to love others. I've only had one other book affect me like this; it was "So Long Insecurity" by Beth Moore. With a little reflection, I have now realized God has been weaving a work in me for quite some time, slowly but surely, layer by layer, molding me into a disciple who doesn't just give love, but as Bob puts it, "becomes love." By no means am I suggesting I have arrived, but after reading this book, I may better understand the path God has designed for me. It is a path that I might have to battle a few times before I can declare victory....not unlike a place called "Hacksaw Ridge."

Allow me to explain. Not coincidentally just as I finished the book I watched a movie about the true life story of Desmond Doss, entitled "Hacksaw Ridge." Let me assure you after reading "Everybody Always" I just know that Bob and Desmond would have been great friends. Desmond Doss was a conscientious objector in WWII and served as a combat medic; he refused to carry a gun. You could say his only weapon was his bible. Desmond Doss saved 75 injured men single handed after a gruesome battle, carrying or dragging, each one to safety. With each attempt, he would have to go back into enemy territory, to find someone who needed rescue, unarmed and with danger all around.  In the movie, the scene is climatic as Desmond exhausted and bloody, asks God with each rescue to help him save "Just one more."  The imagery is  profound.  Desmond, knowing the Lord was with him and "armed" with only the sword of the Spirit, knew he didn't need to be afraid. Bob Goff puts it like this,"What I'm learning about love is that we have to tackle a good amount of fear to love people who are difficult." and ultimately to love like Jesus did. This is how we are to make disciples; one at a time. "People don't bloom where they are planted. They bloom where they are loved." (Bob Goff)  How would you love if you weren't afraid? Bob's book challenges me to love that way. Ouch.

You see most of my life I have struggled with the fear of rejection. Rooted in my childhood experiences, I have always sought after the approval of others. Until I read Beth Moore's book I mentioned earlier, I did not even fully grasp how much my behaviors were controlled by it. It took finally comprehending God's love for me,trusting the promises in his Word (which meant actually reading it and taking it to heart), and facing a searing rejection as an adult before God helped me overcome that stronghold. Now I distinctly heard his voice say it was time to take the next step in maturing my faith.

What if I rejection didn't just have a hold over me, but I actually really loved in the face of it? I heard in my spirit 1John 4:18 : There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.(NIV) The Message bible puts it this way:

God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we’re free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love.

The last sentence of this scripture is the punch in gut. If you want to love like Christ, you cannot let fear get in the way. It is the only way to mature your faith. But wait a minute. To love like that might hurt and it is definitely going to be hard. Yep. And truth be told, I am more likely than not going to mess up. Bob tells us this is when we get honest with God and ask for help.

"I still mess up more often than I want to. When I do, instead of beating myself up, wishing I were the guy who had it all figured out, I hear the kind and gently voice of Jesus reminding me once again to stop laying sod where He's planting seed in my life. His reason is simple: He's more interested in making us grow than having us look finished. He wants me to realize I'm just not quite there yet."

"Our problem following Jesus is we're trying to be a better version of us, rather than a more accurate reflection of him." (Bob Goff)  Let that sentence marinate for a few minutes.  When I do that, it brings me to tears.

Now back to the movie scene where Desmond keeps going back for each wounded soul. Once he brings them to safety, he has to lower them down a steep cliff with a rope. The friction has eventually worn the skin off his hands that are now bloody. But he doesn't stop.

Looking at those bloody hands, I realized he was more like Christ in that moment than ever before. Loving everybody always is going to cost you and more likely than not is going to hurt. But to save peoples souls, it is the price we need to pay. Bob suggests this may ultimately be the report card on our faith. "Maybe God made loving Him and our enemies the easiest way to tell whether we just agree with Jesus or if we want to be perfect like Him."

This year God gave me the word FOCUS for 2018. Focus as a verb means "adapt to the prevailing level of light and become able to see clearly." This book has been like a light switch for me; God adjusted the level of light in my life to look at things differently. But my healing is more a gradual process like in Mark 8.

 They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?” He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around." Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.

Maybe my focus for this year is not just a noun but a verb. It is a call to see people differently. 
Why? Because Love Does.