Walking In Love
What is the cost of fulfilling the call of God? In the Scripture, God has made clear that the cost is “forsaking all and following Him.” However, in reality, to obey and answer the call of God may often times put us in a dilemma. We want to answer the call but along the way many hindrances cross our path. Sometimes, in our zeal to enter into the fullness of God, we may even unintentionally end up offending or stumbling others. On one hand, we want to obey God and answer His call, on the other hand, we are also commanded to obey our parents; submit to our husbands; love our wives; demonstrate consideration towards our children; and subject to one another in love. The former and latter commands may be in conflict. How then could we balance both these commands from the Lord, yet at the same time, fulfil our calling?
Before we discuss further, let us make it clear that in admitting the existence of such conflict, we are not making provision for the fear of man. The fear of man is a snare and we must be delivered from it. However, what we are saying is that if we assert our rights to pursue God’s call without the spirit of love, we may accomplish what we want but at the expense of causing others to stumble. This is because when our hearts are so consumed with God’s call upon our lives and we are so zealous in wanting to pursue it at any cost, we can lack a sensitive spirit and kick against everything and everyone along the way, thus creating pain and even grieving the heart of God.
Our pursuit for the call of God cannot be compromised, however, if not checked, this pursuit can sometimes become an idol in our hearts. We need to learn to walk in love wisely and be patient, so that we would not fall easily and helplessly into situations of conflict. God Himself will bring to pass His call upon our lives if only we know how to fully yield to Him in all things. This means that when pursuing our calling, we have to act in love, even at our own loss, we must learn to forgo what we enjoy in order that others are not offended. This is one aspect of bearing the Cross. If we try to manipulate and push things through in our own way, we might slip away from the pathway of the Cross.
There are two aspects of Cross-bearing. The first and obvious one is the Cross of Christ that overrides our own will. This is the cross we carry to fully abandon ourselves to serve Him and Him only. Many of us do not have much difficulty with that for we truly love God and want to fulfil God’s will in our lives. But what is more trying is when we find the very thing revealed as His will is being frustrated by events or, even more often, by others, hindering our sincere and devoted heart to answer the call of God. This is where the second aspect, and often the inevitable part of bearing the Cross, comes in.
Watchman Nee, a preacher in China, once shared his experience. When he was a college student, God showed him that he was to go in his vocation to an island infested with pirates to preach the Gospel. It was quite a step of faith, however after much prayer, he decided to answer that call. He rented a house, got it repaired and had everything ready. Many had given money towards the project to cover the expenses. All the while his parents had said nothing; however, just a few days before he was to go, they suddenly stepped in and forbade him from answering his call. His parents were also God fearing folks. He was still a student, so what was he suppose to do? He sought the Lord and God answered him, “Yes, that plan is indeed My will, but it is never My intention that you should bring it to pass by violence. Wait and I will work out My will. It is right for you to submit to your parents.” It wounded him deeply for many have misunderstood him, especially those who had given sacrificially to the project. However, he obeyed and suffered the misunderstanding and slander upon him. After some time, the way to that island was opened again and God’s plan ultimately came to pass wonderfully.
Sometimes, we “enter” too much into the call of God and are in danger of becoming obsessed when we make God’s will “our” will. So God has to allow disappointments, many times even through the misunderstanding of others, in order to reveal our true motives. God wants to teach us that we do not need to engineer or manipulate in order to bring His will to pass.
Self can so easily step in to do the will of God; but God has His timing and He will accomplish it in His own way. Self is fed and nourished because we say to ourselves: “I am doing God’s Will.” In our enthusiasm, we think that nothing on earth should prevent us and thus, we cannot comprehend it when God Himself lays some hindrances across our path in order to correct our attitude. The most difficult and painful thing about carrying the Cross is curbing our zeal in fulfilling God’s will and waiting on His perfect timing. It is even more trying when during our wait, there are misunderstandings coming from those we love and those whose opinions we value the most. Words like “It will be difficult for me to trust you again in future”, “I don’t understand what you are doing”, “Are you sure you have heard from God?” and so on, can really hurt. In times like this, it is necessary for us to evaluate whose opinion we really value most, man’s or God’s, so that we can be truly delivered from the fear of men. We must learn to rule over our soul. Sometimes, we place too high a value on our relationships with the people that God puts in our lives. This is an easy deception as we are expected to value and be accountable to each other in the body of Christ. We need to be so secured and so anchored in God that if everything collapse or everyone turn against us, we will have the courage like David “I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth” (Ps.34:1). We must learn to subject ourselves entirely to God’s will, not man’s opinion.
Once while meditating, I received in my spirit a vision of a sharp sword, with the word “Love” carved on its wooden handle. I felt the Spirit of the Lord counselling me: “I am releasing the most powerful weapon to my saints to wage warfare against the schemes of the evil ones. The last great battle is going to be fought with the weapon of Love. I am teaching my saints how to handle my Word in love and only this weapon of love can destroy the weapon of disunity that Satan has used against the church. Many in the past had used My sword no doubt, but with the handle of self-righteousness and pride. Things have to change. I will teach my people to do the right things the right way.” I also received in a vision -- two pairs of boots, one printed with the word “Humility” and the other, with the words “Pride of Knowledge.” Not only [must we] handle the Word with love, we must also march forward and fight the battle with humility and gentleness. If we wear the boots of “Pride of Knowledge,” we will often destroy rather than edify.
Anything that is not done in divine love profits nothing (1Cor.13:1-3), and at times, even wound others, especially our own brothers and sisters in Christ. With all sincerity of our hearts, we believe that the greatest revival that will truly defeat the enemy is the revival of love. The Church cannot be built by manipulation, politics or ‘formula’. God is revealing His heartbeat to the saints, and only those who are willing to pulsate with His heart will truly fulfil His vision. When we all truly walk in love, we will ultimately manifest God’s power and glory.
It is our prayer for all that we learn and receive the revival of God’s love into our hearts, so that we can accomplish His plan according to His wisdom and compassion. The great commission must be fulfilled by first obeying the first two great commandments. May the heartbeat of God so consume us that we all learn how to handle His Word in love and wear His boots in humility to march on appropriately, walking in the way of the Lord as we seek to pursue His vision and destiny in our lives.
What is the cost of fulfilling the call of God? In the Scripture, God has made clear that the cost is “forsaking all and following Him.” However, in reality, to obey and answer the call of God may often times put us in a dilemma. We want to answer the call but along the way many hindrances cross our path. Sometimes, in our zeal to enter into the fullness of God, we may even unintentionally end up offending or stumbling others. On one hand, we want to obey God and answer His call, on the other hand, we are also commanded to obey our parents; submit to our husbands; love our wives; demonstrate consideration towards our children; and subject to one another in love. The former and latter commands may be in conflict. How then could we balance both these commands from the Lord, yet at the same time, fulfil our calling?
Before we discuss further, let us make it clear that in admitting the existence of such conflict, we are not making provision for the fear of man. The fear of man is a snare and we must be delivered from it. However, what we are saying is that if we assert our rights to pursue God’s call without the spirit of love, we may accomplish what we want but at the expense of causing others to stumble. This is because when our hearts are so consumed with God’s call upon our lives and we are so zealous in wanting to pursue it at any cost, we can lack a sensitive spirit and kick against everything and everyone along the way, thus creating pain and even grieving the heart of God.
Our pursuit for the call of God cannot be compromised, however, if not checked, this pursuit can sometimes become an idol in our hearts. We need to learn to walk in love wisely and be patient, so that we would not fall easily and helplessly into situations of conflict. God Himself will bring to pass His call upon our lives if only we know how to fully yield to Him in all things. This means that when pursuing our calling, we have to act in love, even at our own loss, we must learn to forgo what we enjoy in order that others are not offended. This is one aspect of bearing the Cross. If we try to manipulate and push things through in our own way, we might slip away from the pathway of the Cross.
There are two aspects of Cross-bearing. The first and obvious one is the Cross of Christ that overrides our own will. This is the cross we carry to fully abandon ourselves to serve Him and Him only. Many of us do not have much difficulty with that for we truly love God and want to fulfil God’s will in our lives. But what is more trying is when we find the very thing revealed as His will is being frustrated by events or, even more often, by others, hindering our sincere and devoted heart to answer the call of God. This is where the second aspect, and often the inevitable part of bearing the Cross, comes in.
Watchman Nee, a preacher in China, once shared his experience. When he was a college student, God showed him that he was to go in his vocation to an island infested with pirates to preach the Gospel. It was quite a step of faith, however after much prayer, he decided to answer that call. He rented a house, got it repaired and had everything ready. Many had given money towards the project to cover the expenses. All the while his parents had said nothing; however, just a few days before he was to go, they suddenly stepped in and forbade him from answering his call. His parents were also God fearing folks. He was still a student, so what was he suppose to do? He sought the Lord and God answered him, “Yes, that plan is indeed My will, but it is never My intention that you should bring it to pass by violence. Wait and I will work out My will. It is right for you to submit to your parents.” It wounded him deeply for many have misunderstood him, especially those who had given sacrificially to the project. However, he obeyed and suffered the misunderstanding and slander upon him. After some time, the way to that island was opened again and God’s plan ultimately came to pass wonderfully.
Sometimes, we “enter” too much into the call of God and are in danger of becoming obsessed when we make God’s will “our” will. So God has to allow disappointments, many times even through the misunderstanding of others, in order to reveal our true motives. God wants to teach us that we do not need to engineer or manipulate in order to bring His will to pass.
Self can so easily step in to do the will of God; but God has His timing and He will accomplish it in His own way. Self is fed and nourished because we say to ourselves: “I am doing God’s Will.” In our enthusiasm, we think that nothing on earth should prevent us and thus, we cannot comprehend it when God Himself lays some hindrances across our path in order to correct our attitude. The most difficult and painful thing about carrying the Cross is curbing our zeal in fulfilling God’s will and waiting on His perfect timing. It is even more trying when during our wait, there are misunderstandings coming from those we love and those whose opinions we value the most. Words like “It will be difficult for me to trust you again in future”, “I don’t understand what you are doing”, “Are you sure you have heard from God?” and so on, can really hurt. In times like this, it is necessary for us to evaluate whose opinion we really value most, man’s or God’s, so that we can be truly delivered from the fear of men. We must learn to rule over our soul. Sometimes, we place too high a value on our relationships with the people that God puts in our lives. This is an easy deception as we are expected to value and be accountable to each other in the body of Christ. We need to be so secured and so anchored in God that if everything collapse or everyone turn against us, we will have the courage like David “I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth” (Ps.34:1). We must learn to subject ourselves entirely to God’s will, not man’s opinion.
Once while meditating, I received in my spirit a vision of a sharp sword, with the word “Love” carved on its wooden handle. I felt the Spirit of the Lord counselling me: “I am releasing the most powerful weapon to my saints to wage warfare against the schemes of the evil ones. The last great battle is going to be fought with the weapon of Love. I am teaching my saints how to handle my Word in love and only this weapon of love can destroy the weapon of disunity that Satan has used against the church. Many in the past had used My sword no doubt, but with the handle of self-righteousness and pride. Things have to change. I will teach my people to do the right things the right way.” I also received in a vision -- two pairs of boots, one printed with the word “Humility” and the other, with the words “Pride of Knowledge.” Not only [must we] handle the Word with love, we must also march forward and fight the battle with humility and gentleness. If we wear the boots of “Pride of Knowledge,” we will often destroy rather than edify.
Anything that is not done in divine love profits nothing (1Cor.13:1-3), and at times, even wound others, especially our own brothers and sisters in Christ. With all sincerity of our hearts, we believe that the greatest revival that will truly defeat the enemy is the revival of love. The Church cannot be built by manipulation, politics or ‘formula’. God is revealing His heartbeat to the saints, and only those who are willing to pulsate with His heart will truly fulfil His vision. When we all truly walk in love, we will ultimately manifest God’s power and glory.
It is our prayer for all that we learn and receive the revival of God’s love into our hearts, so that we can accomplish His plan according to His wisdom and compassion. The great commission must be fulfilled by first obeying the first two great commandments. May the heartbeat of God so consume us that we all learn how to handle His Word in love and wear His boots in humility to march on appropriately, walking in the way of the Lord as we seek to pursue His vision and destiny in our lives.
