Maximum Effort part 3
You know what I always thought was weird? When people made fun of people for doing things for their significant others. Calling the "whipped," and whatever. I always thought, "Isn't that supposed to be the person you love the most? Why wouldn't you do things for them?" And guess what: The more I come to understand the true nature of love, the more I understand that that's really how we ought to treat EVERYBODY. We oughta give what we've got to anyone we come into contact with. And, listen, as always I'm NOT saying you should burn yourself out and put yourself into bad situations. I'm just saying that the best way to FEEL love is to LOVE OTHERS. Remember, Jesus was refreshed when He ministered to the woman at the well. He didn't empty Himself out by giving what He had. He filled Himself up. And that's the coolest thing about love: We're connected to an unlimited source. We can't run out. The more we give, the more we find we have. I don't think love has any limits. We HAVE unlimited love so we can GIVE without limits! I know it's scary when you think about giving what you've got and not getting anything back. But guy, perfect love casts out all fear! When we understand how totally and completely we are loved, we begin to see that we don't lose what we've got by giving it away. Because really we're sharing it. And shared experiences grow in size. They feed on themselves and get bigger and bigger. Better and better. Love feeds on love. It is the fire that consumes everything except itself. So what am I saying? "And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain" (Matthew 5:41). Don't be afraid to go the extra mile for someone. For ANYONE. My motto is go big or go home. If it's worth doing at all, it's worth doing all the way. And there's nothing more worth doing than love. Love can literally change someone's entire world. Because it can show them something better than they've got. A more excellent way. And when someone sees a better option, chances are they'll go for it. If we show people who God REALLY is--our loving heavenly Father--chances are they'll run TO Him instead of running FROM Him. Because people want... people NEED... to be loved. It is the desire of our hearts. But we look for love in all the wrong places. We get burned and then we try our best to stay away from the fire. But God IS that consuming fire. He burns away the chaff, and purifies the gold that's deep down inside. So that we might know and believe what's inside. So that we might be filled to overflowing with what's inside so that it comes out... naturally. And that's when maximum effort BECOMES rest. When we stop "trying" to love people in order to get something, and start to love people effortlessly because we HAVE something. We have something to give. Something to share. We can meet needs and we can give people the desire of their heart. We can lay our lives down for each other. In short, we can love each other!