For the Love o’ God (#833)

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1. Dear Wayne, thank you so much for today’s podcast with Kyle, titled For the Love O’ God.
   I listened to Dr Steve Boyer first talking about going after the love that we were made for and then to your podcast. I know that I personally have many moments of that kind of love knocking at my door and that I often allow myself to be smitten by them, whether it be aimlessly looking at trivial rubbish on my phone for hours in the evening and therefore, making me so late to bed that I’m already burnt out for the following day ahead or just procrastinating and wasting valuable time. To hear that ‘Time is Love’ is an eye opener and very sobering. I’ve had a tough week at work, especially with someone who has aimed blaming/guilt tripping remarks at me. These are minor accusations but nonetheless, as a new employee, have really got under my skin. Hearing you discuss, ‘Laying this at the foot of the Cross’ and trusting that Jesus will take care of the wrongs we feel have been aimed rightly or wrongly against us, is so comforting and freeing to hear. Like you say, freeing because it enables us to move forward in life without bitterness destroying us. As you say, it would be wonderful to maybe one day, sit down with the people who we too have wronged and ‘In Love’ talk about why these things happened and what was happening in our lives and minds at the time which caused us to react to the person in the way we did. We understand that our human nature naturally has a tendency to behave and react the way we do now but at the same time, how wonderful to know that we also have God’s Holy Spirit living in us to help us realise and demonstrate to others, His Love that so freely flows.

   I too resonate with the lady who’s husband died 15 years ago and how her life has continued to be enriched going forward even though she suffered such a painful loss. It is without doubt that Father follows through faithfully to his word that he will use every situation, no matter how traumatic or painful for our good as he promises to be with and in us every step of the way forward.

   I lost my brother in the year 2000 through suicide, he was 43 years old, a Paramedic but suffered deeply with ongoing mental health problems, depression etc. Six years later my parents were involved in a car accident just down the road from where I was living at the time. Dad was a young at heart 82 year old and Mum was 74. Both had been amazing parents to me and our family and had always given us so much love and support. They provided childcare to their Grandchildren which enabled me to work for so many years. Dad died the evening of the accident, but by the Grace of God, I was fortunate enough to be able to see and speak to him in rescuss shortly before he passed away. Mum on the other hand had suffered a broken neck at C2 and was left paralysed from the neck downwards. She was on life support, her head in a metal brace. After several weeks under sedation she was able to communicate through a tracheotomy. She spent the last five months of her life in hospital before being moved to a hospice where after a week she passed away.

   I had always known about ‘Our Father,’ as from a very young age Dad would often talk to me about Him. Dad was a man who had a deep faith and love of God and would talk with such gentleness and passion about Him to me. As I grew up, Dad would on occasions mention Father to me and hope that I would engage with the conversations but I was a busy, anxious teenager who was going my own way and regretfully didn’t really bother to spend time listening to him. In the 1980’s Dad joined a fellowship and started to attend regularly. Mum eventually joined about twenty years later. I knew the small congregation on a social level but didn’t attend services. I was too busy making a mess of my own life and although I had always acknowledged God and believed in Him without any doubt, at this stage of my live I was yet to have a relationship with Him. But, things changed drastically when the accident happened. At first, as a family, we were completely devastated by what had happened. I felt numb. I and the rest of my family loved my Mum and Dad so very much, life without them and the fact that they had died in such tragic circumstances was unbearable. The day after the accident I had such a strong urge to make contact with two of the people from the fellowship who were also great friends with Mum and Dad, to let them know what had happened. They came straight over to see us and engulfed us in Jesus love. Since then my family and I have become part of their lives and have a bond that can never be broken. . Jesus literally engulfed me and my family in his spiritual arms, love, compassion and forgiveness. I say forgiveness because I did not deserve after the life I had been living to receive such love. It is hard to explain how it happened, there were no bolts of thunder, no flashes of lightning but an incredible feeling in my heart of burning love that could only have come from God our Father. I would not be here today if it were not for his Grace, I have suffered since a teenager many years of mental health issues, anxiety, depression and I would not have survived without His love and those whom he brought to me and my family in a time of desperation. Those two people in particular being Richard and Judith Hornby.
   We all live in the UK and had the pleasure of meeting you when you were over here with your wife Sara, quite a few years ago and visited us in Surrey for a seminar. Since losing my dear parents in 2006, it was incredibly difficult for the first few years dealing with the grief and learning to live life without them but Jesus has been with us every step of the way and enriched our lives in ways I could never have dreamt about. He has changed my heart from being so self centred to being able to live life in love and to realise how precious our family and people in general are to us. I feel incredibly humbled knowing that Jesus has blessed me with His unconditional love and that I’m able to have a relationship with Him which centres in love, compassion, forgiveness and Grace.

   Many thanks Wayne for your podcasts. Please visit us again soon in the UK!

   Much love in Christ to you and Sara
   x

   • Sue, thank you for sharing a bit of your story here. My heart grieve with the hard bits, like losing your brother and your parents way too soon. And then suffering for so long with mental health issues. Wow, you touched my heart with all of this, for what you have endured. And yet, the work of Jesus is obvious as he has continued to draw you to himself and reveal his love to you through some generous people in the midst of such pain. Triumph out of tragedy! It’s what he does in such broken world until this age of suffering finally ends. I’m so blessed you’ve found your way into his reality, love, and some friendships in him that really matter.

     I’d love to come back to Surrey some day, Lord willing. Please let me know if you know anyone there that wants to put something together. If not, you can sign up for my Travel notifications, if I happen to be traveling in your area <https://www.lifestream.org/content/signup-lifestream-email>. Be sure to include your address we can let you know if I’m going to be nearby.

     Blessings and love,

     Wayne

2. Imagery, idealism gives “hope”, a direction to travel towards because we desire to seize the opportunity to control; this happened in the garden. God definitely gives us desires when He sends us here, but the soul has to be separated from the spirit, not every image is from God, not every expectation is based upon Him, His love. Any attempt upon our part to control towards a specific outcome which favors us is destructive, and therefore, not love. I love your quote given to you by your friend the beloved brother Coleman… This is so true; letting go and letting God keeps life very simple; along with, never pick up what you’re not willing to carry to the cross.

   I hear these “voices” speak much and say so little in all of their writings, yikes… Love is mentioned and yet not tied necessarily to God, but love itself as…? It is all so empty and religious; droning tones, ears quite deaf to the quiet call of the heart as was I. I do chuckle as I imagine a fellow tossing academic darts at a board he has made…and yet, “Oh, so close.”

   I am reminded of Wayne’s much earlier comment of Indiana Jones wielding the pistol to finish the flair of his assailant’s persistent demonstration…no doubt, complete with the eye roll. As Jesus told the young man, “You lack only one thing, sell what you have and give it away.” We know how that turned out. The way of Cain, the error of Baalam for reward and the gainsaying of Korah sums up all of the religious, intellectual banter which is piled in books and speeches upon speeches.

   It is interesting to the point of how much is relig-a-splained within their intellectual “language”. Even G00gle maps routes into empty parking lots and over passes.

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