He wants my love to be a little more reckless...like His

I have said before that following Christ is the most exhilarating experience life has to offer. Anyone who is an adrenaline junky, should become an intimate follower of Christ. I regularly meet with two awesome men of God on Thursday mornings at Chic-fil-a. I am amazed at how God delights in blessing our time together and showing up in powerful ways each and every time we meet. This Thursday was no different when we gathered early for the day. We have had opportunities to minister to and pray for so many random individuals that we have now come to expect this, rather than be reluctant in stepping out.

This past Thursday, I saw the lady that is responsible for promotions and marketing of the store. She calls herself the "chicken goddess." When I saw her coming in, I felt in my spirit the jolt that we needed to pray for her today. We prayed for her in the past, and were asked to pray for the coffee pot that was not working on the day they were giving away free breakfast. Important for her day yes, but not very vulnerable. Well, she hurriedly went in and out of the store and I didn't think it was going to happen. While we were talking about how to rest in the Lord, she walks back in to hand us a free spicy chicken sandwhich coupon. We were able to pray for her day and her daughter that is working in new york.

Shortly after that, there was a police officer that came in and we try to buy them breakfast when we see them. It almost always results in an opportunity to get to pray for some pretty tough individuals on the exterior. They are always open to this and in fact have been incredibly grateful for the breakfast and the prayer! This day the officer blessed us in sharing how God had saved his life just last year. Our faith was grown hearing his story how the doctors didn't believe he would survive the staff infection and that following a prayer rally in his room, one miracle after another began as God saved this man's life to the amazement of his doctors. We bowed our heads together praising God for saving our bother's life and for giving him this testimony to encourage others with.

That seemed like enough for one morning, but God wasn't through. After we ended our time in prayer together, a lady sitting near lit up like a Christmas tree when one of the men at our table made eye contact with her. He went and said good morning to her and she gushed about how blessed she was to see people praying together in a restaurant. That it helped her to be reminded to trust in the Lord. My friend did what we had already done twice, asked if there was anything we could pray for her with this morning. She indicated that she was really struggling financially to make it to next week. My one friend had been to the ATM machine the night before, and was able to help meet her need financially.

My friends had to get to work so after we prayed for her, I was left visiting with this sweet lady who seemed lonely and sorrowful for the sins in her past that still had impact on her life today. I didn't have even a dollar in my wallet to give to her financial need, but I did have a loving family at home I could share with her. I felt the nudge from the Lord to walk in allowing God to show his reckless love through me and my family.

This was getting much more personal and complicated....just the way the Lord is with us. He pursues us with the reckless love of the father in the story of the prodigal son and desires for us to allow him to reveal this love through us to others. Jesus Christ left heaven, being seated at the right hand of His Father and all of His glory, to become personal to all of us and it got complicated. When the people turned against Him it became personal and complicated. When I informed my wife in the midst of her extra busy day that I had invited a lonely woman I met at Chic-fil-a over for dinner. It got personal and complicated, LOL!

We had this sweet lady come for dinner and my wife was loving and gracious to her, my kids overwhelmed her with hugs and kisses that touched her deeply. I ended up cooking the meal and doing all of the dishes afterward, to make it work in our schedule. I needed to see all of this to better understand that I need to be reckless in my love to others, but also to my own family! Allowing God to reveal His reckless love through me as his humbled servant is one of the most exciting parts of being a follower of "The Reckless Loving Father!"

Lord help me to love without always considering what it will cost me personally. Help me to humbly reveal your reckless heart to my family and to the world so desperate to know you.