Connected: Rediscovering Life-Giving LOVE with God

Many Christians misunderstand and trivialize the biblical meaning of love and miss the transformation that God wants for them. We may practice the disciplines without grasping the life that Jesus desires to give within us. Through many years of spiritual formation teaching, coaching, and spiritual direction, I have found that both pastors and lay folk seem to simply blow past the central teaching of Scripture that LOVE forms the heart of the Gospel message. When we translate the Greek word agape with our various cultural understandings such as attraction, affection, or kindly deeds, love makes no real sense. Why would affection or kind deeds toward God or others trump faith or hope, for example? People easily affirm that God loves them and then move on to more important kingdom issues. When, however, we grasp the real meaning of agape, LOVE changes everything! We receive LOVE as life-giving connection with God, and through Him with others. We become lamps that get plugged in!