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| Conditional love |
Recently I read John Ortberg's tribute to Dallas Willard - "Dallas Willard - A Man From Another Time Zone." Willard struggled with love, as I do. Ortberg writes: "I remember hearing him talk once about his struggle with harboring contempt for people. If he did, it was in a very deep harbor. But God alone knows the human heart."
Dallas was praying for Jesus-love to overwhelm his contempt. I am, too. How important is this?
Richard Stearns writes: “God’s deepest desire is not that we would help the poor; God’s deepest desire is that we would love the poor; for if we love them, we will surely help them.”
- Stearns, Unfinished, p. 76
Jesus loved people, in the first place. Out of his love, he acted. "Everything Jesus did was an expression of his love for the Father and his love for people. He embodied love as no one else ever has." (Ib.)
True love does. If we love, we will act.
Pray for this kind of love to fill the hidden harbors of your heart.
