Love Has Everything To Do With It (Live Love and Live Loved)
I’ve been somewhat off grid this past week at the 2013 Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod National Youth Gathering in San Antonio, learning to live love(d). This triennial event hosting 20,000 to 30,000 teenage youth presents an opportunity for young people to learn more about Jesus Christ, the Christian faith and their Lutheran identity.
As an adult shepherd (aka, chaperone), I experienced a gamut of emotions over the 6-day event: exhaustion, frustration, elation, admiration, fear, relief, and love to name a few. And they all beautifully combined to form what I would classify as a pivotal event in my life.
Attending the gathering stretched my patience, grew my understanding of Scripture, strengthened my relationship with some of our youth, drew me nearer to Christ, and grew my confidence as a leader and disciple.
Let me share a little of the message.
The 2013 theme focused on the Lord’s love for each of us and what we should do with that love. We live in a world where love is largely misunderstood.
We mistake temporary “feel good” moments for real love then wonder what happened when our hearts are broken. We line book shelves and fill the air waves with a litany of love gone wrong. We seek and encourage love in all the wrong places.
Live Love(d)
LOVE LIVED in that Jesus came in the flesh and walked among us. Because Jesus lives, we have hope; we can LIVE LOVED! Click To Tweet
*We forget that we are BELOVED children of God. He created us. He forgave us. He sent His only Son to die for us. That’s love!
*Life gets busy and we begin to feel DE-LOVED. We try to find love everywhere except where true love is. We get distracted pursuing “things” to make us happy and lose sight of God. Busyness and misusing God’s good gifts (sex, wealth, intelligence) are Satan’s greatest tools.
*Yet LOVE LIVED—Jesus came in the flesh and walked among us. The embodiment of God’s love: Love Born. Love Sent. Love Died. Love Lives. Because He lives, we have hope!
*Because Jesus lives, we can LIVE LOVED! In baptism, we receive a new identity—as beloved children of God. We are not defined by what we do, what we look like, how others perceive us, or what we need to do better. Our identity is that of God’s children. When we look in the mirror, that’s what we need to see.
*As we live loved by Jesus, He empowers us to LIVE LOVE through Him. Through Jesus, we are given purpose and passion. We are strengthened and emboldened. All to share His love with the world. Don’t look for excuses—nothing is impossible with Christ. Nothing is an obstacle.
Contrary to the popular song by Tina Turner, “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” love has everything to do with it. It just needs to be the authentic love that comes through Jesus Christ.
With that kind of love, anything is possible.
Live Love! Live Loved! Click To Tweet
“This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him” (1 John 4:9).
Reflections: What distractions are holding you back from living a truly loved life as a beloved child of God? How do you/could you take that love given through Christ and live it out toward others?
Linking with Ann Voskamp at A Holy Experience in 2013 with my Joy Dare list for Multitude Mondays (#1872–1892, read the entire list by clicking here):
- Safely in San Antonio; Took a walk on the beautiful RiverWalk; Found my sister-in-law & nephew & sat w/ Dan at NYG event
- Paint to make incredible impressions; 25,000 believers under one roof; Peanuts at 1 a.m.
- Serving with dedicated, caring leaders; Italian dinner w/ our NYG group; Visiting the Alamo
- Freedom found in Christ; Freedom found in America; Incredible worship service–communing w/ 25,000 fellow Christians
- Morning mass event–great send off from the @LCMSNYG; Spending time w/ sister-in-law at a Texas ranch; Heading home!
- Home safely fm San Antonio; Attitude & joyful confidence in teens after #LCMSNYG; Two River Otters loping to the lake
- Hearing what each of r youth liked most about @LCMSNYG; Picking black raspberries; Helping Zach w/ his school schedule
Also linking with the following wonderful site:
By His grace ≈
Julie
Find hope in your real-life struggles. We'll chase it together! I am a wife; mom of 4 (including a young adult daughter with special needs); miscarriage mom of 5; author & follower of Jesus Christ. I write, edit, speak and enjoy everything outdoors.
Great post Julie. Sounds like a very memorable event. I was raised Lutheran myself (although never experienced an event that big! :). To answer your question, I’d say I am regularly distracted by all the messages in the world. It happens so fast! There is so much love around all of us but we so often close our eyes and ears to the Truth. Bad habits that can thankfully be corrected with prayer, fellowship, and scripture.
I actually was raised Roman Catholic, Brent, and didn’t become Lutheran until after my first two children were born. I had tried a number of denominations before discovering the doctrine of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod most closely matched my beliefs.
You certainly aren’t alone in your distractions! Satan works hard to flood us with messages that confuse us and cause our eyes to slip from Jesus. Praise God He has sent help and is full of mercy and grace.