“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 5:1-2
“…He walks on the circle of the sky.” Job 22:14b
I love the four-part movie series ‘Emma’ – a beautifully drawn out love story where the plot painstakingly twists and turns but so satisfyingly comes full circle back to Mr. Knightly and Emma.
Full Circle. Circles are uniquely shaped with no clear beginning or end and aptly drawn by a toddler or a talented graphic designer. We can watch a day come full circle as hands tick around on a traditional wall clock or as the great light governs a day in the sky- the sun.
Concentric circles spell disaster or intimacy–a devastating hurricane or an intimate prayer circle. While ‘walking in circles’ is typically not desired when on a mission, love is the foremost pursuit we continuously circle back to if we want to walk like Christ.
When Wendy McCready and I literally walked into each other in the foyer of Grace Church in Morton, Illinois during Small-Town Pastor’s Conference April 2016, the story of Flowers for the Pastor’s Wife was about to begin. And now, as we approach 10 years of blog themes, we are coming full circle right back to– LOVE.
Let’s go back to Fall 2016 when Wendy and I were emailing ideas and prayers back and forth like an ever-quickening ping pong game. My husband and I traveled from where we were church-planting in Nebraska to a Bible college campus in WY. The newly done room we stayed in had a wall hanging I couldn’t quit looking at, “Let all that you do be done in love.” I Corinthians 16:14. Wendy and I agreed this would be the theme verse for the first year (2017) on the Flowers blog and we couldn’t be more excited to circle back ten years later to – “Love One Another.”
While ‘doing all things in love’ and ‘loving others’ isn’t possible for anyone to exude 24/7, we have a perfect example to imitate in Jesus Christ. I have to say, I’m glad Ephesians 5:2a doesn’t say to ‘run in love.’ I’m a walker! I will walk on a path or an exercise machine, a parking lot or a grocery aisle. I can enjoy at least one other thing while I walk- process, pray, listen, look. I cannot go fast or far but I can walk long,..and bonus if I reach my optimal heart rate.
Walking in love as Christ paces me allows my spiritual heart to circle back to its optimal rate of loving those around me.
Unlike that lifeless wall hanging that sparked our first Flowers theme, we as human beings are called to be living, moving examples as we walk in love. The best picture of love is found in Christ who “loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Eph 5:2) and as we keep our eyes on Christ, “the founder and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2) we will keep circling back to the greatest of faith, hope, love– to love that remains. (I Cor. 13:13).
The paperback,‘Spirit Walk: The Extraordinary Power of Acts for Ordinary People’ by the late Steve Smith fleshes out Galatians 5:25 giving us a picture of what it looks like to ‘keep in step with the Spirit’ using the acronym SWAP:
- S-urrender to His Will and Word
- W-ait on God in Prayer
- A-void Sin and Let God Root Out All Unrighteousness
- P-ursue the Promptings of the Spirit
My prayer partner, Janet and I read this book together, seeing it come full circle in the very last two and a half pages with a poignant story called, ‘The Father’s Rescue Van.’ In summary, a Doctor moves to a remote area and builds a hospital to save lives. He buys a van and employs his son to drive it for the specific purpose to rescue people and bring them to the hospital for care. The Dr. installs a gas pump to ensure his son will always have enough gas and posts a guard to make sure it’s only used for rescue missions. The son chooses to use the van for his own purposes and grows bitter telling his father, “I need some power to make this van go. As it is, I just feel powerless!” His father says, “Son, we came to this community with one mission: to rescue people. From the very beginning I have asked you to only do one thing: follow my wishes by taking the van where I tell you, picking up hurting people, and bringing them to me to heal them. You have been very excited about that task, but have felt that you needed other things to complete that task. You have become so excited about the rescue van that you have forgotten the mission. When you are ready to go
where I tell you, I will give you all the gas you need to get you there and back. You will be amazed at how well the van will run. But if you refuse to use the van to save people, you’ll have to find your own gas somewhere else.” The son refused to follow his father’s purposes while “the father looked for others who would be willing to drive a van to rescue people in need.” Oh that we would ask and trust our heavenly Father to empower us to evermore walk in love.
Just a closer walk with Thee
Grant it, Jesus, if you please
Daily walking close to Thee
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be
Author Unknown
Taking It Further: Use the hymn chorus ‘Just a Closer Walk with Thee’ to answer the following questions.
- What’s one way you can ‘pace’ yourself to walk more closely in step with the Lord today?
- What’s one Scripture focused on your walk with the Lord that you can meditate on and memorize today?
- What’s one daily rhythm/healthy practice you can repeat as you walk out your relationship with the Lord?
- What’s one Spirit-walk related request you can ask your heavenly Father to grant you today? (use SWAP acronym)