For Lent, I am walking us through a book called Apprenticeship With Jesus. You can follow along by reading 
my highlights and reflections. Extensive previews of the book, including excerpts, can be found through Google Booksand Amazon, as well as eBook purchasing options.
Day 6: Love Is God’s Money: Compassion As The Economy of the Trinity
– 1 John 4:16 – And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
– We are created to love and be loved in return
– Self-forgetful love brings pure joy
– The key to joyfulness is the spiritual power of the Trinity, self-forgetful love
Though you never want to be in the habit of reducing God, scripture does it for us with its mention of God as love. To be created in God’s image is to be created in love and for love. Americans especially think that something that is more complicated is more valuable. Though God is complex and a mystery, we can understand him and his ways by just understanding love.
Apprentice Activity: Getting Into The Flow — With Simple Acts of Kindness
– Other-focused love has great benefit to our souls
– Think of three people you can surprise today with a simple act of kindness. Then ask God to help you carry out your plan. Notice how it feels to become lost in other-focused love.
I failed on this activity for a couple of reasons. I still intend to do it but at the time I failed to make it happen. For one reason, I was not feeling well. I was feeling drained, I was dealing with severe allergies, and stomach problems. If you want to have a disruption to your spiritual life, then just get sick. You other-focused mentality quickly becomes self-focused.
Another reason that I failed was because I was too busy. There was too much going on at home and with activities involving the home that I was running around too much to even focus on helping others. I hope that acts of kindness are a natural part of my life that I don’t have to have set moments to participate in kindness but I know that I could have been more intentional in response to this activity.
What is Jesus teaching me? I am slowly learning how to step into the Trinity and trust. I don’t know if this example will make any sense but on Saturday I found my self just trusting God for my daily energy, concentration, and security. I took the reigns off my controlling nature involving time and my to do list and just trusted God. Though my day was busy and filled with many activities, I just had a calm about me and a confidence that God knew what he was doing. I ended up having the time and the energy to get done what I needed to get done plus do some things that I enjoy.
What part of your life do you need to hand over to God? As a Christian, you have already trusted God for your salvation but have you trusted him for your life?
Grow Up Blog 