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Walk in Love – Love Taking Form · Still, Here

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: This is still here.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: A quiet moment to remember what is true.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: Listen to these words from the book of Ephesians chapter 5 verses 1 and 2.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: Be therefore imitators of God as beloved children.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: Walk in love even as Christ also loved you.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: Paul begins with belovedness.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: Be imitators of God as beloved children.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: We do not imitate God in order to become loved.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: We are loved first.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: Imitation grows from belonging.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: Love becomes a way of walking because belovedness has become a way of living.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: A little child can play freely when a loving parent is near.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: The child is not analyzing protection every moment.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: The child is held by a presence larger than fear.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: That is one of the gifts of receiving God's love as presence.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: The soul begins to live under the watchful care of the Father.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: Many of us have carried an old soul form that says,
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: I have to move toward God with effort and intensity in order to stay close to Him.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: That belief turns the Christian life into strain.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: It can make love feel like a performance and devotion feel like maintenance.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus speaks of a deeper reality.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: In the book of John chapter 14,
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: he describes a dwelling place of love,
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: the Father and the Son making their home within us.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: God does not merely call us toward love from a distance.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: He chooses to live in us and through us.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: That changes ordinary life.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: Love becomes evident in speech,
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: patience, listening, service, truth-telling, forgiveness, boundaries, and presence.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: Presence may be the clearest sign.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: There are people whose lives carry the atmosphere of Christ before they say anything.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: I think of my grandfather teaching fifth grade Sunday school.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: Children loved being around him because he demonstrated what real love felt like.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: His love was not a technique, it was a presence.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: This is where love taking form carries us into love beyond measure.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: We are held, cherished, and cared for.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: Now we can begin to explore the depths of love and learn what it means to live from it.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: Before one ordinary interaction today, pause and remember, I am a beloved child.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: Then enter that interaction with love embodied through presence.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: Listen fully.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: Speak gently.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: Tell the truth without harshness.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: Offer patience.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: Keep a wise boundary if needed.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: Let the love of Christ become visible in the way you are with another person.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: Love is not depleted by giving itself away.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: In Christ love grows as it is embodied.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: It takes on flesh in us.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: It becomes a way of entering a room,
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: answering a need,
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: speaking a word, telling the truth, offering mercy, and staying present.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: The love of Christ does not remain an idea.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: It walks.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: Take a moment for this prayer of presence.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: Beloved Father, I remember that you loved me first.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: The old pressure to perform closeness,
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: prove devotion, and work hard to stay in grace has made my soul tired.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: You have made your home with me.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: Your love is nearer than my striving.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: Your presence is steadier than my efforts.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: Let love take on flesh in me today.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: Teach me to walk as a beloved child.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: As you step back into the rhythm of your day, carry this prayer with you.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: Let the love you give me take form in my life.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: Let the love you give me
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: Take form in my life.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: Let the love you give me take form in my life.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: If
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: you would like to go deeper,
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: the written reflections are available at powerloveandmiracles.com.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, stay steady, stay open, stay present.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: You are still here.