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Walk in Love – Love Beyond Measure · Still, Here

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: This is still here, a quiet moment to remember what is true.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: Listen to these words from the book of Ephesians chapter 5 verses 1 and 2.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: Be therefore imitators of God as beloved children.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: Walk in love even as Christ also loved us and gave himself up for us.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: Paul says walk in love.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: Those words could easily become one more command to work on.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: Be more loving.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: Be more patient.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: Try harder to respond like Jesus.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: But after everything Paul has said in Ephesians,
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think that is where he wants us to begin.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: He calls us beloved children first.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: The small ruler says,
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: Love is something I give when others deserve it or when I have enough left over.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: Grace says we are already living inside the love of Christ.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: We have been chosen in love,
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: brought near, rooted and grounded in love, strengthened within by the Spirit.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: Paul is not suddenly changing the source and telling us to manufacture love
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: for everyone we meet.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: He is showing us what happens when the love we have received begins to move.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: Walking in love does not mean becoming agreeable.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: There are moments when love tells the truth.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: There are times when love says no.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: Love can draw a boundary, confront harm, or refuse to participate in something destructive.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: Passivity lets the world around us decide who we become.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: If another person is angry, we become afraid.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: If someone disapproves, we scramble for approval.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: If a situation becomes tense,
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: we may surrender what we know is right simply to make the discomfort stop.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: Love Moves in Another Direction When the love of Christ is becoming the power
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: within us, we can remain ourselves in the presence of someone else's emotion.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: We can care about what is good for another person without needing to control them.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: We can be strong without using strength to dominate.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: There is a difference between trying to copy Jesus and allowing the life of Christ
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: to take form within us.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: If I simply look at Jesus and say,
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: I should act more like that, love can become another performance goal.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: Then I am back to measuring whether I am loving enough, patient enough, or selfless enough.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: Paul has been describing something deeper.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: Christ dwells within us.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: The Spirit strengthens the inner person.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: We are rooted in love.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: The Source has changed.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: That does not remove choice.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: We still decide whether we will listen,
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: speak, forgive, serve, stay, leave, apologize, or set a boundary.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: But increasingly, the choices do not have to begin in fear.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: They can rise from a life that already knows it is loved.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: Perhaps that is a helpful question to carry today.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: Not, how can I make myself be more loving?
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: Simply, what might love do here?
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: You may be surprised by the answer.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: Love may offer kindness.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: It may offer patience.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: It may offer honesty.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: It may offer space.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: Walking in love is not forcing yourself to appear loving.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: It is staying close enough to Christ that his love can find its way through you.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: Take a moment for this prayer of presence.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: Christ Jesus, your love is already present before I try to express it.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: I receive that love again today.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: When fear wants to determine my response, remind me where my life is rooted.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: Keep me close enough to you that love can become more natural than defense,
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: control, or withdrawal.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: Let your love move through me without my needing to force it.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: And as the day continues around you, carry this prayer with you.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: I receive the love of Christ.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: Love flows through me.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: I receive the love of Christ.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: Love flows through me.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, stay steady, stay open, stay present.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: You are still here.