A Reckless Extravagant Love part 2 – by Keona J. Tann

Larry Crabb explains that love, real love, the love that defines God, is a love that involves suffering, a love that is willing to sacrifice its own well-being for the sake of another.

Love is sacrificial.

Many War Memorials bear the words: ‘Greater love hath no man than this’, taken from the Bible verse John 15:13:

• “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (KJV)
• “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (NLT)

There are many people who have given their lives for the sake of others, maybe in that moment they held tight to the above verse, or maybe it was that their loved one’s faces flashed before their eyes, whatever it was those who have willingly given up their lives for the sake of others did not demand or declare that their life was of more value and therefore should be spared, no they deeply understood that love is not demanding for “It does not demand its own way” 1 Corinthians 13:5b (NLT)

Reckless Abandon

Another Man who laid His life down for others is Jesus and it cost Him dearly. He endured
being ridiculed, tortured and nailed to a cross to show just how much He loves us. Just as love cost Jesus dearly, it will cost us. A great example of this is King David, as the Ark of the Lord entered the City of David, King David danced before the Lord with all his might – skipping about and laughing with joy. After the celebrations he returned home where his wife expressed her disgust over his display, David’s response is quite extraordinary: ‘I am willing to look even more foolish than that, I’ll dance always for God’s glory, even more recklessly than I did today. For Him I’ll gladly look like a fool, I’m even willing to be humiliated in my own eyes!’ (I’ve listed the verse below)
This story really struck a chord in my own heart and I was challenged by God to recklessly and extravagantly worship Him. This was HUGE because I had been very conscious of what other people thought and God was working on purging out my pride and fear of man. As I journeyed upon letting go of those things, I kept hold of King David’s story and other verses that encouraged me to worship God, such as:

“Serve and worship the awe-inspiring God. Recognize his greatness and bow before him, trembling with reverence in his presence.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭2:11‬ ‭(TPT‬‬)

Revealing God’s Love‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

How can we live our lives in a way that honours God?
Extravagant worship is one way and another important way is by revealing His love to those around us. “We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. 1 John 3:16 (NLT)
But how can we reveal His love to others?
We can encourage others by sharing our testimony, this shows not only how God has worked in our lives, but it also reveals that God is alive and active today. Sharing the gospel can seem like an overwhelming task that we are ill equipped to do but start with this, start with your testimony and ask God to speak through you to others. Let go of pride, become unconscious of yourself and remind yourself that it is NO longer I that lives BUT Christ Who lives in me!(Galatians 2:20)

Take hold of Christ’s commissioning:

“I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18b-20 (NLT)
I urge you to recklessly abandon yourself to the Call. It’s going to cost, we must lay down our pride and look to God for approval, not others, it is costly BUT so worth it.
On the 31t of December 2018 at 12:15 am I heard this call and wrote:

Reckless abandonment!
Reckless abandonment to Jesus and His glorious ways.
What I’ve got planned pales in comparison to what He has planned.
One step at a time;
One breath at a time;
One prayer at a time.
I’ll chase after Him and ALL that He has for me
because He has SO much more than I can ever imagine!

We have a Helper

Rather than being overwhelmed with the huge job that there is to do, just take it one step at a time, one breath at a time, one prayer at a time and one person at a time. Look for opportunities around you and be faithful in the little things. Also remember we are NOT left on our own to stumble through this…..
In the Great Commission (Matthew 28:20) we are promised by Jesus that He will be with us ALWAYS, regardless of circumstance, every single moment of the day He will be with us, even to the end of the age. This is a remarkable promise on so many levels, but mainly it is an invitation to delve DEEP into Christ, to become so absorbed by Him that we are able to do the great work He has called us to.
“Jesus wants to give you more of Himself. He wants you to be immersed in His love so you can love others recklessly, completely, full of God’s outrageous grace.” Rolland & Heidi Baker

Let’s pray:

Do you long to know God’s love in a deeper way today in order to love those around you? Please join me in this prayer: Lord Jesus I thank You that I can know what real love is because of You! Please reveal Your great love for me in a deeper way today so that I can love those around me.
Jesus, You gave up Your life for me so I want to give up my life for others. I want to be a living sacrifice for You (Romans 12:1), I let go of pride, I become unconscious of self, and declare: ‘it is NO longer I that lives BUT Christ Who lives in me!’ Come and immerse me in Your love so that I can reveal it to others. Help me each step of the way, every moment of the day, to impact the lives of those around me!

Lord ever be my strength and my song, may I always worship You. I praise You for all that You’ve done, all that You’re doing right now and for all that will come. May I bring You great glory and honour, in Jesus’ mighty name I pray. Amen.

Many blessings, Keona

Notes:
The opening paragraph is inspired by Larry Crabb’s quote: “love, real love, the love that defines God, involves suffering the loss of our own well-being for the sake of another. Pg 32 Crabb, Larry “From Go to ou, 66 Love Letters: A Conversation with God That Invites you Into His Story.” United States of America: ‘Thomas Nelson’, 2009

For the King David story I mentioned please read: 2 Samuel‬ ‭6:14, 16, 20-22‬, 1 Chronicles‬ ‭15:27-29‬ ‭I studied the AMP, NLT‬‬ & MSG‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

Here are more verse in relation to adoration from Knowing Jesus

This was also inspired by the following extract of the devotion January 31st “Paul is unconscious of himself, he is recklessly abandoned, separated by God for one purpose – to proclaim the Gospel of God (cf. Rom. 9:3).” Chambers, Oswald. “My Utmost For His Highest” OCPA edition. Great Britain: ‘Oswald Chambers Publications Association Limited’, 1997.

I have quoted from: Baker, Heidi & Rolland. “Expecting Miracles: True Stories if God’s SUPERNATURAL Power and HOW You Can Experience It.” Fifth Printing, United States of America: ‘Chosen Books’, 2013