The Not So Secret Secret

“The goal of our instruction is love…” 

-The Apostle Paul to Timothy, a young man he was discipling, from 1 Timothy 1:5

How much do you daily draw on, rest in, and enjoy the love of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? Why should you care? After all, in the speed and unpredictability and competition of life, what we really need are tools that help us stay ahead of gravitational darkness. You barely have time to read, or listen to, this blog.

But what if the answer you need is love? What if what you know about love is wrong…or woefully incomplete? What if love is the source of the elusive inner electricity and life you have long sought.   

I have been convinced that love is the not-so-secret secret to vitality. Further, I am convinced, and see this almost daily, that the absence of love, even the mis-prioritizing of love, is the cause of internal withering. 

I love the word “wither” to describe the internal opposite of love’s vitality. Shrivel is another evocative word. Withholding of love, neglect, abuse, pursuing other priorities, busyness, and more all contribute to internal withering. Why? 

Because your soul was made to thrive in love!

And there is no other solution that ignites your life. 

I can get “angry,” frustrated is probably a better word, when brothers and sisters mis-label the Apostle Paul as just a great theologian. My long study of his life and teachings has convinced me that Paul is actually a great lover. His theology, while super pristine, systematic, and dense, is a robust theology of love! Without love, without living in love, one can spout the book of Romans with clear articulation and erudition and completely miss Paul’s intent. 

Let’s consider this 1 Timothy text first and then highlight a few pillar texts from Romans to make my case. Paul wrote 1 Timothy to a younger man that he had been discipling for years. Paul had a deep affection for Timohty. This is not an employee or a student. Paul loved Timothy constantly remembering him in his prayers, longing to see him, remembering his tears (2 Timothy 1:3-4). 

Paul writes 1 Timothy to further his son in the faith’s Kingdom training. Before he gets to any of the pressing issues in Timothy’s ministry, he establishes the goal of their ministry and teaching. And the goal is love. 

A goal is a target that provides clarity and direction. I have been a Dallas Cowboys fan since 1978 when my family moved to San Antonio. Every year, the Cowboys goal is to win a Super Bowl (I am inserting this so that many of you can have a reason to laugh.). The Super Bowl is the target. 

Paul emphasizes, highlights, makes sure Timothy remembers, that the goal of their teaching, training, and disciple-making is love. 

Love. 

I find this staggering for multiple reasons. First, and easily, by far, the most – love is not the goal for which I was trained. I was trained for knowledge and effective preaching of accurate biblical truth. I learned to read and write both Hebrew and Greek languages so that I could be more precise in my dissemination of biblical knowledge. I was not trained to love. Either to receive love, experience love, or give love. After living a while in my own bomb-littered journey, and sitting with many people in theirs, I was smacked with what became blatantly obvious that the deepest need of our lives is love. 

Paul’s love clarity stirs more questions – Why love of all things? If love, then how does one build ministry to succeed? If love, how would one measure success? 

Bob Stanbery, the Discipleship Pastor at Bridgepoint Bible Church, really opened me up to the ease and power of assessing spiritual health. As a career engineer, he has a keen ability to convert life to data points. So, I have been actively assessing Christians for a few years around love and inner vitality and the results are telling.

Yesterday, I was with one of the most well-known lay Christians in Houston. He is a great friend of mine, and we spend good time together. He leads a Thursday Bible study among other kingdom activities. I asked him to estimate how the men would score themselves 1 to 10 on their experience of Jesus’s promised, John 10:10, abundance. Without hesitating he said 3.5. 

3.5    

Clearly that is not a scientifically derived number. However, even anecdotally, coming from a strong brother in the Lord who knows those in his group, that number is stark. 

I think we have wildly missed that love is the not-so-secret secret of vitality.

Now to the book of Romans. Romans has long been the favored playground of the theologically high-minded. It is considered Paul’s systematic explanation of the faith. And many quote it to support massive doctrinal issues. And, somehow, many will miss the heart and love Paul weaves throughout the sixteen chapters. 

Consider these four examples:

• 1:7, “…to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints.” 
• 5:5, “…and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God (our Father) has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” 
• 8:27, “But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.” 
• 16:1-16 where Paul names 26 people in the church for whom he has deep affection. Consider verse 5, “Greet Epaenetus, my beloved, who is the first convert to Christ from Asia.” 

I am not suggesting Romans is not theologically rich. Obviously, Paul’s letter is. I am declaring that those for whom Romans is taught for the sake of knowledge rob the Holy Spirit, Paul, and those they would teach of love. They completely miss, or negligently minimize, the priority of love in the Kingdom and in personal vitality. 

One question…if, according to Paul in Romans 5:5, the love of God is poured out within our hearts by the Holy Spirit, to what degree do you daily experience and draw on His love for you life? Second question, what effect has/does His love have on how you feel about yourself? How you feel about your past? How you feel about your future? How you feel about others? Third question, what wounds and issues has His love healed in you? What have you had to overcome to arrive at a place where you learned how to receive His love?

Love is easily the not-so-secret secret to vitality. Like other Kingdom realities, the significance of love in the Bible is hiding in plain sight. 

In the Way of Rest recipe, reflection is our foundational discipline. To reflect is to soak, to immerse, in one area of the Kingdom and allow the Holy Spirit freedom. Will you take time this week to reflect on the love that our Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have for you? Will you repent, if needed, of making anything else the priority of your faith? Will you ask our Father to help you experience His love daily?

And will you become a prophet of His love in your spheres of influence?

Life in the Overflow is LOVE-filled living!