Love, After All

This last weekend we were blessed to have Mrs. Lael Melville speak to our class - she rocks socks!

Because I've been married longer-than-a-day, I know to NEVER speak on behalf or in place of a woman. So, I'm not going to rehash/paraphrase her message; on my best day, I couldn't interpret all that Ms. Lael has to say.

This is my basic understanding or the message:

Lack of obedience leads to pain. Pain, by way of choices and decisions, leads to correction. We should redefine pain as something we need to go through to get to Love i.e. obedience opens our hearts to God's Love.

There were SOOOO many different hard hitting topics/subjects/talking-points that were covered....I'd need a book and not a blog post to do it any justice. Since Jessie Prince doesn't allow me to speak in class (a wise decision) I'd like to share a small piece of what really stuck to me.

Obedience. The word just sounds harder than Chinese math, doesn't it?. Speaking, or writing, about obedience has been on my heart for a very long time - probably because it's where I need to focus. I remember talking with my wife, Nelly, about this topic 5 years ago. I had to make a simple phone call. I didn't want to make that call, but I felt moved to do so. I tried to talk myself out of it. I just didn't want to do it. I even thought that the person I was calling wasn't going to answer. I had this "gentle nudging" that wouldn't go away. I wasn't going to be allowed to not make the call.

In that instant, it had hit me. The conversation that may or may not happen wasn't important .It was simply important that I dialed the number.. Something so trivial  Just letting someone know that I'm thinking of them. You see, when we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us, the impact that have on others is more profound that we can imagine. When we are obedient, God can do his wonders through us. We never know how far a small gesture of kindness will go. We've all had days when we feel the world is against us; but we receive a quick text or email or call...and it turns our day around. We feel that someone cares about us. That's God letting you know that you're not alone.

I love how Moi, a Christian band, explained obedience to a church where they were leading worship. Simply put, our obedience pleases God.

It is a simple but profound truth. Ms. Lael had said she learned how to walk from her mom; she picked it up nuances and habits of her mother.

That's where obedience to Christ should live - in the nuances, in the subtleties of who we are...in our every day lives.

Please feel free to discuss/share what you got out of the class. Again, many thanks to Ms. Lael for her awesomeness.