The Love Walk

Why does it appear that so many Christians struggle to walk in love? God is love (1John 4:8). When we are born-again, we are born of God as an "incorruptible seed" (1Peter 1:23). The love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). Yet, so many self-proclaimed Christians are so far the opposite direction, they make the rest of us look bad. Regrettably, I often fall into that category. So, what's the deal?

We do not walk in the fullness of the new birth because we are still far too rooted in this present age. The Christian cliche, "in the world, but not of the world" does not apply to enough of us anymore. We are of the world. The "world" in the New Testament is a mindset contrary to the Word of God. I read a survey recently that said fifty-three percent of "Christians" believe "God helps those who help themselves" is a Biblical truth. That's called being worldly. And don't ask me to site the reference, it was just a random stat in a book :)

More time of fellowship with the Lord through prayer and Scripture is necessary in many of our lives. Don't go overboard with that statement; I am not condoning becoming a religious monk, and holing yourself up in a bedroom reading the Bible twelve hours a day. However, people may not be experiencing the kind of life afforded us through Jesus could be a result of not putting Him in His rightful place in our lives (Matthew 6:33). As a result, we do not know the power and authority given to each believer through the death and resurrection of Jesus. We have a religious mind-set that says "God's gonna do whatever God's gonna do," and we go about our day living however we think we should - with very little spiritual know-how.

Colossians 1:12-13 explains that we have been translated out of this worldly mindset and into God's. The kingdom of darkness is not planet earth, it is the mindset and mentality of the ruler of that mindset - y'know, the devil?   We are citizens of heaven right now. We have dominion in the earth right now because of what Jesus has done for us. Remember whatever you bind and loose on earth has been bound and loosed in heaven (Matthew 16:19). You are a citizen of heaven, act like it. Heaven has a different culture than America (or whatever country you live in). The "American Way" is not the "kingdom way," so stop trying to live in both places at the same time. You must retrain your ways of thinking to match-up with God's (Romans 12:2). The mind of Christ ("Christ" meaning "Anointed One and His anointing") is already in you (1Corinthians 2:16) and needs to be strengthened. Your spirit must be built up. These things will not be done by simply praying five minutes a day. You must make a conscious effort to give God time to work in your heart, mind and spirit through His Holy Spirit if you expect to see any significant change in your life and countenance.

You have the time. I have said it before and I will continue to say it. I have met so many unhappy, cranky, Biblically illiterate Christians. It comes as a result of being more worldly-minded than kingdom-minded. You must exchange your thoughts for God's thoughts, and watching TV, spending hours browsing the internet or (like me) listening to sports radio all day will only hinder your ability to hear from God and change your ways of thinking. Give God time to change your thinking to line-up with His perspective. Again, you do not have to become a religious zealot and read the Bible seven hours a day - that's my job. The Lord gave me this analogy for you: if you have six ounces of silver and one ounce of platinum, you may have more silver, but the platinum is worth more. That sentence needs work, but you get the idea. One hour of prayer and Scripture done right is worth far more in the Lord's eyes than if you take a day off work and give Him six sloppy hours and stop-and-go Bible and prayer. If we are ever going to grow in the love-walk God desires of us (and that is so vital to the functioning of our faith) we must spend more time with Love Himself. So get to it! ;)