Kingdom Love - God's Love at Work - Week of May 19
Kingdom Love
"Love never fails." ~ 1 Corinthians 13:8
In order for something to never fail, it must be strong. It mustn't wear out—ever. It must endure through every test, every trial, every season of time, every hill, every valley, every personality. Only God is this kind of love (I John. 4:8).
Kingdom love begins with an outpouring from God to us, then through us to others. In this way, the process of love is cyclical and is the foundation and motivation upon which and through which every Godly thing is built.
I am amazed at what God can do with a clean slate—a desperate and surrendered heart.
Have you ever noticed that when God gives us a directive, the first thing that comes is fear? This is because the directive or mandate He is giving us is bigger than we, our knowledge bank, our previous experience, our vision and the current capacity of our hearts. It's bigger than anything we know at that moment.
Indeed, we serve a very big God who has very big plans. And the enemy tries to use fear to thwart those plans on earth so that he can reign.
When we turn to God with a willing heart, He showers His love upon us and restores us. It is from His infilling of revelation, instruction and joyful power that we accomplish new things for God.
When fear comes to arrest us, we must choose which master we will serve.
God has rescued me many times from irrational fears and has taken me to heights that I could not imagine on my own by simply giving me a willing heart and a resounding "Yes" in my spirit.
When He first called me to begin to minister to people in my workplace, I felt terrified. Sharing the love of God was the most frightening thing He could've asked me to do at that time because I had such a bad case of fear of man.
But God was about to break that bondage in my life and restore me to love. He opened my eyes to see that the reverential fear of God He placed within me was greater than the fear of man within me. This overwhelming reverential fear rose up and catapulted me into the new move God had for me.
As I journeyed through this new calling and saw this new level of God's amazing love consistently, I also saw that fear of man become extinct within me. In time, I came to understand the process of Kingdom love.
How about you? Have you noticed that just when you feel accomplished in any particular area, like in your career or certain relationships, God soon raises the bar? When God calls us out of our comfort zones, the familiar areas that reside within us—whether good or bad—it's not for the purpose of harming us. It's to prosper us and others and Him.
When we step up to God's divine callings, laying down all encumbrances, including self, and thereby receive more of Him, He gives us increased opportunities to sow and receive more love. The more we get from Him, the more we can give to others. And the more we give, the more we get. God's abundant love never runs out.
In this way, Kingdom love is not selfish. It is a generous and perpetual process of sowing and reaping and multiplying, of nourishing and replenishing for the purpose of building God's Kingdom on earth.
Kingdom love pivots our hearts, fills our lives and elevates our spiritual walk. May we choose a resounding yes to trusting God in this journey so that His love will captivate us and enable us to build His Kingdom on earth (Mt. 6:10).
Margaret D. Mitchell is the Founder of God's Love at Work, a marketplace outreach purposed to share God's greatest power source - the love of Christ. This devotional was adapted from Margaret's forthcoming book, Enduring Grace. All rights reserved.
