18. Part 2: LOVE IN ACTION ft. Hannah Rule

In the last episode, we talked about how God has given us tools & the ability to take our spiraling thoughts captive in order to not let our emotions determine our actions. Today, we will talk about the actions we are commanded to do as followers of Christ.

The Great Commission: 

“Then Jesus came to them & said, “All authority in heaven & on earth has been given to me. Therefore go & make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father & of the Son & of the Holy Spirit, & teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you...”

-Matthew 28-18-20

As the Son of God, Jesus has been given all authority in heaven & on earth. Jesus came to be the sacrifice for our sins AND to show us how to live Kingdom Minded. Love looks a lot different from someone living Kingdom Minded. We are to: 

1. Acknowledge the authority of Christ
2. Go- leave the comforts of our own lives in order to find people that need to know Jesus
3. Make disciples- disciplining someone is more than just telling them what they are doing wrong - you form a relationship with them built on trust, respect, & love
4. Of all nations- we should not only create relationships with those that look & act like us
5. Baptizing them- we should show them how living a life for Jesus looks outwardly
6. Teaching them- after the relationship is created, after they have come to believe who Jesus is, & after they have outwardly presented their belief…we must teach them how to follow Jesus

We tend to focus on step 6 because we want others to live for Jesus which is a great goal, but we cannot skip the other steps. In order to follow Jesus’ command, we cannot be afraid of how unlike Jesus people look. We cannot be afraid of listening to the perspective of someone different than us. Our goal is not to change the world, it is to introduce Jesus to the world. We can do this through a life of love in action.

4 definitions of love:
sacrificial love, mutual love, equal regard, & delivering love. All come from Jesus’ teaching on being Kingdom Minded & come from the idea that Love has a name, Jesus, & that becoming Love is a life in action. These definitions of love also brought to mind the life that Hannah’s father lived which is why she’s hoping to write all of this into a book one day.  One thing that is interesting about these definitions & how her father lived them out is that convicting or condemning are not part of them. A quote she recently heard that hit me pretty hard is:

“If God didn’t send Jesus to condemn the world, I doubt he sent you.” -David Huskins

If we are not to convict or condemn others for their sins, what are we supposed to do? We are supposed to love. We are to live sacrificially; giving not what is left over but giving what is needed. We are to live in mutual love that highlights interpersonal communion with others. We are to hold people in equal regard valuing all people equally. And we are called to live in delivering love which is love by delivering from oppression. Jesus called us to live so drastically differently than the world which has nothing to do with condemning the world. We are to reach across such great divides & hatred in order to care for others.

The same hurt, anxiety, & brokenness we talked about in the last episode can be experienced by those right next to us. Will we be the ones to show such love & kindness that others are freed from the darkness of this world in Jesus’ name?
Connect with Hannah:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/herule478/
Other articles: https://linktr.ee/hannaherule