Most you probably remember me writing about Redemption Groups back in the fall. Well, our church has decided to offer them as a ministry, and after quite a bit back and forth mentally (and still feeling inadequate and some other personal struggles) decided to commit to going forward with them. Anyways, we had our first meeting last week where we went through the specific chapters on Love in Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands. I tell you, that book is great...go out and buy a copy for yourself, read it, and start applying it. :) So, I figured, I'd bring all of you along a bit of this path with me...so tonight here are some of the concepts in the Love chapters (7-8).
People aren't in the way of the plan, they're the focus of it.
We would prefer to lob grenades of truth into people's lives rather than lay down our lives for them.
We are relationship thieves. People do not belong to us...they belong to God. Relationships are not primarily about our fulfillment. Our relationships should be loving and redemptive.
To truly love, we must Enter the Person's World...that is done by truly seeing where people are at, not where we believe they are at. When people talk, there will be indicators of needs in their lives often shown by emotional words, interpretive words, self-talk, or God-talk. By asking questions about those things, we can get an honest understanding of the struggles people are facing.
Another element is that we Incarnate Christ...we're not just God's spokesperson, we're His example. We must be a picture of Who Christ is and a living example of what He's done. We can't "fix" a person, only God truly can...so we can't base our counsel on human wisdom, but on Spirit-led, bible-based, Christ-exalting truths.
The third piece is Identifying with Suffering...it is a great equalizer as we've all experienced it to one degree or another. It creates in us a humility, an understanding that we're walking the road together, and that we don't have it all together - it's only Christ's work in us.
Lastly, we need to Accept with Agenda. God's grace leads to change. We don't condemn the person, but we also don't condone their sinful choices. True love keeps God's greater agenda in mind...transformation.
Good stuff...
I draw this game board on the dry erase board and put "prizes" along the path
then I write out a math problem that if solved correctly gives them a roll of the dice
whatever they land on, they win: computer minutes, watching a show, a little treat, etc.
sometimes when I'm mean, I put "do a chore" on one of the spaces :)
I also have things like "kiss the momma", +2, -3, etc to add some spice
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