Leading with Love

People donate all sorts of things to our ministry, including books. I will comb through these books often and pick out the Christian ones that we then put out in our waiting room for our neighbors to take. This is a seed planting ministry. Occasionally I'll find a book that will feed me as a leader and so I'll read some of it first before giving it away. One such gem that came here was Leading With Love by Alexander Strauch. It's directed to Christian leaders and teachers, describing how Scripture puts so much emphasis on love.

While on the treadmill last night I read a couple chapters. One of the neatest stories was of the great evangelist Dwight Moody. He had a life-altering encounter with the love of God when his church invited a young British evangliest named Henry Moorehouse. For seven nights in a row, Moorhouse preaching John 3:16, going through the entire Bible showing the revelation of the love of the Lord. In his journal, Moody wrote of this experience:

I never knew up to that time that God loved us so much. This heart of mine began to thaw out; I could not keep back the tears. It was like news from a far country. I just drank it in . So di the crowded congregation. I tell you there is one thing that draws above evertying else in the world, and that is love.

I took up that word "Love" and I do not know how many weeks I spent in studying the passages in which it occurs, till at last I could not help loving peole! I had been feeding on Love so long that I was anxious to do everybody good I came in contact with.

As I finished my workout last night, I decided that I, too, want to be consumed with God's love as Dwight Moody was. I want to lead with love above anything else -- as a husband, father, elder, son, director of this ministry, and in everything. Just like Jesus does with us each day.

What if you and I tried this experiment today: ask God to give us opportunities all day to display His love in creative ways to those around us, or with someone we haven't talked to by phone or e-mail for awhile. And then just expect Him to bless others through us. Let's try this today, and then let each other know how the Lord worked His love through us.

Jim