Mike Taylor

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  • Why Your Level of Freedom Is Determined by Your Level of Personal Responsibility

    You can’t have freedom without personal responsibility.

    In fact, freedom will only increase at the rate of personal responsibility.

    From the very beginning, responsibility has been woven into life with God. 

    Adam was placed in the garden “to work it and take care of it” (Genesis 2:15). God even let Adam name the animals (Genesis 2:19–20). Considering there are millions of species in the world, I think we underestimate how big of a job God gave him (just ask a biologist).

    Moses was given the responsibility of freeing the people of Israel, and the people of Israel were given the responsibility of fighting for the Promised Land.

    Over and over again in Scripture, the pattern is always the same: freedom increases as responsibility increases.

    And Jesus talked about this in the Parable of the Talents. 

    A master entrusted three servants with his money before leaving on a journey. Two invested what they were given and doubled it. One buried it because he was afraid to lose it.

    When the master returned, he praised the first two but condemned the third as “wicked and lazy” (Matthew 25:26).

    Why? That seems harsh.

    He wasn’t condemning his ability or resources. He was condemning his rejection of the gift of responsibility.

    The prophet Ezekiel was also given a choice to accept or reject responsibility. 

    God led Ezekiel into a valley of dry bones and asked him, “Can these bones live?” 

    Of course, Ezekiel didn’t know. Only God knew that. But God told Ezekiel to speak to the bones anyway. He told him to prophesy to the bones and tell them to come to life.

    And when he obeyed, the bones came together, flesh covered them, and breath filled them (Ezekiel 37). 

    Now why did God lead Ezekiel all the way out there to have him do something that God could have done all by himself? It’s not like God needed his help.

    It’s because we can only receive the freedom God gives when we take responsibility.

    So he includes human beings in the process of redeeming creation. (2 Corinthians 5:20)

    But why does he trust us with things even when he knows we’re going to mess up?

    God desires relational intimacy because that’s his nature. Relationships can only exist where there’s freedom. Without freedom, you have nothing to give other people – no time, attention, affection, etc.

    And in order to gain freedom, you must be willing to bear the weight of responsibility. You cannot have one without the other.

    In fact, the word “responsibility” means “to respond” or the ability to respond – which is just a description of freedom.

    When we accept responsibility and carry out our free will for God’s glory, we experience the Kingdom of God here on earth.

    This is God’s heart for all people – to accept responsibility, have freedom, make wise choices, and experience life to the fullest through Him.

    This is why Colossians 3:23 says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.”

    When you’re working for the Lord, you’re giving your free will to him. You’re exercising freedom to invest in your relationship because you love him.

    Not only does it bring us closer to God, but accepting the weight of responsibility is the only thing that enables you to do things with excellence.

    Think about it. Why do you clean a friend’s house more carefully than your own when we’re staying there? It’s because you feel responsible to them. 

    The same principle runs through our relationship with God, our families, our work, and the people around us. 

    What we claim responsibility for, we steward. What we refuse responsibility for, we neglect.

    If you want to see things in your life grow and thrive, it starts with accepting personal responsibility for them.

    It isn’t someone else’s fault. It isn’t someone else’s to take care of. It’s yours. You can always affect the outcome.

    And when you accept that burden, your personal freedom increases.

    When you reject that burden, you choose to remain bound inside the confines of everyone else’s actions.

    So here’s the question:

    Where are you waiting for God to move? And what responsibility has he already placed in your hands?

    In American Christianity, we love to pray for things. We love to wait on God. But most of the time, he’s waiting for you to accept responsibility and start working. 

    If you’ve been passive, it’s only a matter of time before you feel restricted.

    And it’s because passing on responsibility shrinks your freedom.

    Yes, we should pray for God to guide and open doors when we hit roadblocks.

    But I would argue most of our roadblocks are just fear dressed up as an imaginary barrier. 

    The truth is, change rarely comes by waiting. 

    Ezekiel didn’t wait for the bones to rattle on their own. 

    The servants in Jesus’ story didn’t wait for God to tell them how to multiply the money. 

    They acted based on what they knew. They took responsibility and trusted God to bless them by multiplying their efforts and giving grace where they messed up. And God worked through their obedience.

    The same is true for us. 

    God has already shown his heart through his creation, his word, and his actions in our lives. 

    Our job is to carry what he has given into the places he’s entrusted to us. The ones right in front of us.

    As we do, things begin to take shape. Dead places start to stir. Relationships begin to heal. Growth becomes possible.

    But it’s only in the movement that we often must initiate.

    Responsibility is not a burden. It’s an invitation to join God in his work – to be “co-workers in God’s service” as Paul puts it in 1 Corinthians 3:9 – so that his Kingdom can come.

    In that light, responsibility is a gift worth thanking God for every day.

  • Why It’s Normal (and Healthy) to Feel Like an Outsider If You’re Following Jesus

    To follow Jesus, we have to be willing to break what’s normal and acceptable.

    In fact, the more you follow him, the more you’ll drift outside cultural norms.

    You have to be willing to be an outlier and an outcast.

    Here’s what I mean…

    In Luke 8, a Jewish religious leader named Jairus comes to Jesus and begs him to heal his 12-year-old daughter. On the way, a crowd presses in. Jesus was already well known for healing, and large crowds often followed him.

    In that crowd was a woman who had been bleeding for 12 years with no medical hope (Luke 8:43). According to Levitical Law, she was unclean, and anyone who touched her would be unclean until evening (Leviticus 15:19). She knew this. But desperate for God, she reached out anyway and touched Jesus’ clothes. Immediately, she was healed.

    Twelve years of bleeding, healed in an instant. But she broke the law.

    Jesus stops and asks who touched him. Imagine being that woman. You’ve touched a man while unclean, experienced a miracle, and wanted to slip away quietly. The pressure and fear must have been overwhelming.

    His disciples are confused because everyone is touching him. But Jesus persists. Terrified, she comes forward, trembling, and falls at his feet. Then, in boldness, she tells her story publicly: unclean for 12 years, yet daring to believe she would be made clean instead of making him unclean.

    And Jesus doesn’t rebuke her. He blesses her: “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”

    She broke the law and admitted it publicly, and Jesus blessed her anyway.

    Now imagine Jairus. As a Jewish leader, he knew the law and the scandal of what just happened. Yet he still had to decide whether to trust Jesus. On the road, he hears his daughter has died. Jesus tells him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”

    Think about that. Jesus stopped for a woman who was legally unclean, risked making himself unclean, and in the delay, Jairus’s daughter died. Bitterness could have set in. But Jairus proceeds anyway.

    At the house, mourners are crying. Jesus kicks them out and tells them to stop. That alone must have felt offensive. Then he takes only Peter, James, John, Jairus, and his wife. He touches the girl’s hand (again breaking the law by touching a dead body, see Numbers 19:11) and tells her to get up. And she does. And in practical fashion, Jesus tells them to give her something to eat.

    It’s easy to miss how many norms and legal standards Jesus collided with. There was a way to do things. There were rules and formalities. And Jesus navigates them with an uncomfortable amount of freedom.

    But Jesus didn’t abolish them; he fulfilled them (Matthew 5:17). He lived the heart of the law, not just the letter.

    Even our courts in America today recognize what’s called the “necessity defense”, which is breaking a law to prevent greater harm. If you break the speed limit to get someone to the hospital, you can argue that it was justified because the heart of the law is to protect lives.

    We all understand there’s a difference between the letter and the heart of the law. That comes from God, who gives us grace even though we’ve all broken his law.

    We don’t get a pass for sin, but God knows the heart. 

    One of my favorite lines is, “An ignorant yes is better than a well-informed no.” 

    If you’re pursuing God’s heart and make a mistake, good – you were pursuing him. If you break social norms or even actually laws while chasing him, grace covers you.

    Fear tells you not to do the thing you feel compelled to do. 

    Faith says if your heart is set on God, you don’t have to worry about the outcome because Jesus takes care of your life (Colossians 3:3–4; Matthew 6:33).

    Where there’s faith, there’s uncertainty. 

    And where there’s uncertainty, there’s discomfort. 

    Our comfort zones of acceptance and admiration will be challenged. But will we move forward when there’s no clear path to success?

    Jesus said if you want to follow him, you must deny yourself and take up your cross (Matthew 16:24). In his time, a cross meant shame and rejection. It was the opposite of normal. Carrying a cross implied guilt and required grace.

    Picking up your cross means dying to the law none of us can meet. But the promise is that if you give up the need to draw life from fitting in, being accepted, and being comfortable, you’ll gain true life from God (Matthew 16:25).

    And like Jairus and the bleeding woman, you’ll see things far greater than anything you imagined.

  • When Trying Your Best Isn’t Good Enough

    Effort does not equal impact.

    How many times have you heard the phrase, “I was just trying to help.” Ironically, I think that might be the least helpful thing we can say.

    But why do we feel like trying is so important? 

    Why does it feel like our efforts are validated by the effort itself?

    If I spent a week digging a hole and shoveling the dirt into a pile with no intention to do anything of value with the dirt or the hole, would my efforts for that week have been successful?

    I mean, I tried. I exerted a bunch of energy. I put forth a lot of effort. 

    But was any of it impactful?

    Here’s a fundamental truth about human nature:

    We’re okay with getting an A for effort and an F for impact.

    “Trying” is an excuse for being afraid of doing what’s truly important. 

    I will try to quit drinking if I know I’m unwilling to stop alcoholism in its tracks.

    I will try to help someone by giving them money if I’m unwilling to deal with their dysfunctional spending habits.

    I will try to get along with everyone if I’m unwilling to be honest with them about their misbeliefs and behavior.

    Striving for effort usually creates memories you can hold onto that make you feel good.

    But striving for impact creates opportunities that bring freedom to people around you.

    When your son catches the game-winning touchdown pass, it makes for a great memory because he tried hard. 

    But when he drops the game-winning touchdown pass, your compassion towards him makes for a great impact.

    When the dysfunctional family gathers once a year for Thanksgiving dinner, it makes a memory because they were just trying to be normal.

    But when you ruin Thanksgiving because you acknowledged pain and brokenness in an attempt to heal old wounds, it makes a great impact.

    When you buy Christmas for a family living in poverty, it makes for a great memory. 

    But when you serve the homeless and impoverished and teach them employable skills, it makes for a great impact.

    Great memories can be made along the way to making a great impact. But let’s not get confused about which is worth living for. 

    The generations that come after you are depending on your impact, not your effort.

  • Insecurity Causes Restlessness. Here’s How to Overcome It.

    Almost everyone is chasing something they think they lack. We all have a level of insecurity.

    Insecurity is defined as a lack of confidence or protection.

    When you feel like you’re lacking something in life (money, status, fulfillment, etc.), ask yourself…

    What have I invested in the most?

    God? Family? Comfort? Success?

    Investment = giving your:

      • time
      • attention
      • money
      • control
      • hope
      • heart
      • life
      • etc.

    That’s where your security is.

    A “security” is a financial asset. It’s something you’ve invested in.

    Abundance comes from security, not the other way around.

    If our investment security is found in anything other than God alone…we’ll always find ourselves lacking, and we’ll never have enough.

    Money won’t do it. Success won’t do it. Even family and friends can’t hold the weight of your security.

    But if we, like King David, can say to God, “you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure…” (Psalm 16:5)

    Then we, like King David, can have what David had when he said, “I lack nothing.” (Psalm 23:1)

  • How to Know If You’re Doing What God Wants You to Do

    Imagine a father and a son sitting in a living room together.

    The son is 6 years old. His head is tilted back staring at the ceiling in boredom. He has a frustrated look on his face. Finally, he lets out a big breath, looks at his father, and says, “Dad, what should I do today?“

    The dad looks at him and says, “I don’t know, son, what do you want to do?“

    The son says, “I want to do whatever you want me to do.“

    The father, confused, replies, “I want you to do what you want. I don’t want you to just do whatever I tell you to do.“

    As a father or a mother, or as a son or daughter, can you picture this situation? 

    Why would the dad be frustrated? After all, the boy only wants what his father wants.

    But the belief beneath the question that the son is asking really comes down to this: 

    “I’m afraid to choose because I don’t want to disappoint you.”

    As a father, that’s both frustrating and heartbreaking. 

    We want our kids to feel free and secure around us. 

    We don’t want them to feel like we’re over bearing or controlling. We want to be the safe place they come with their creativity and ideas and dreams.

    For a child to have such a fear-based mentality when it comes to their relationship with their father is a tragedy.

    Instead of telling a child what to do, a good father is more concerned with how they do it.

    As a dad, I don’t want to tell my kids what to do with their lives. 

    Instead, I want them to learn from me how to do whatever it is they decide to do with their lives.

    I want to teach them things like:

    • Whatever you do, do it with excellence. 
    • Love people in the same way you love yourself. 
    • Treat people with kindness. 
    • Serve other people before looking out for yourself. 

    These are the kinds of things I want my kids to think through as they do whatever it is they’re doing in life.

    To tell them what to do only fuels their propensity to avoid their freedom to choose.

    Imagine this same boy at age 18 coming to his father and asking him, “Dad, what major should I choose in college?“ Or, “Dad, what woman should I marry?“

    It seems asinine that a child would live like that.

    And yet that’s often how we approach God.

    We’re afraid to do things we’ve dreamed of doing out of fear that God won’t approve.

    Longing for the will of God becomes a mask for fear we’ve developed about the character of God.

    Fear causes us to picture God as a harsh man (Matthew 25:24). We think that if we make the wrong choice, we’ll lose his approval.

    But that’s not God’s character at all.

    God is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in love (see Exodus 34:6, Numbers 14:18, Nehemiah 9:17, Psalm 86:15, Psalm 103:8, Psalm 145:8, Joel 2:13, and Jonah 4:2).

    God is patient, merciful, and loving (see Romans 2:4, Romans 9:22, Romans 15:5, 2 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 6:6, Galatians 5:22, Ephesians 2:4-5, Ephesians 4:2, Ephesians 4:32, Colossians 1:11, Colossians 3:12-13, 1 Timothy 1:16, Titus 3:4-5, Hebrews 4:16, James 5:11, and 2 Peter 3:9).

    I’ve spent long nights praying for God to give me the “right answer” between two good options. But I’ve almost never gotten a direct answer. 

    What I’ve found is that God will prompt me with questions and thoughts and help me filter decisions through his character.

    He often asks me what I want. (See 1 Kings 3:5, Matthew 20:21, Matthew 20:32, Mark 10:36, Mark 10:51, Luke 18:41, and John 1:38.)

    Other times he’ll wait until a desire bubbles up inside of me and I have enough courage and faith to ask Him for it. (See Genesis 15:2-6, Genesis 28:20-22, Exodus 3:7-10, 1 Samuel 1:11, 1 Samuel 1:19-20, 1 Kings 3:9-13, 2 Kings 20:2-6, Psalm 37:4, Matthew 7:7-11, John 14:13-14, John 15:7, John 16:23-24, Acts 10:30-31, and 2 Corinthians 12:8-9)

    I used to see this line of thinking as selfish – that it’s selfish to think about my desires.

    But what does a good father want? 

    A good father wants to be a part of his kids’ lives, and he wants to model for his children how to do whatever they endeavor to do in life with excellence. 

    For a child to make their own choices and act in the character of their father requires a deep intimacy, trust, and respect.

    Fear, on the other hand, has to do with punishment (1 John 4:18). But there is no condemnation for those in Christ (Romans 8:1).

    So what are you afraid of?

    Make the bold choice to exercise freedom and receive mercy (Micah 6:8).

    Then, in all your ways acknowledge him. But you have to choose a way first.

    And whatever you choose, do it with all your heart and in the full representation of God so he gets the glory. (1 Corinthians 10:31, Colossians 3:17)

    I think you’ll find that was the point all along.

  • Why You Never Feel Like You Have Enough

    The world says to take. Find what fulfills you. Go after what you want.

    And yet, despite America being one of the wealthiest countries in the world, Americans are some of the most dissatisfied people in the world.

    That’s because we’ve developed a backwards view of value.

    What you give to, lives. What you take from, dies.

    The value of bank accounts, houses, and relationships are all built on what you give, not what you take.

    What you give to increases in value.

    What you take from loses value and eventually becomes detestable to you.

    The things we hate the most are usually the things we’ve taken from the most.

    Taking says, “I need more. Why can’t you give me more?”

    Giving says, “I’m secure. I have more than enough. You are valuable to me and I’d like to invest in you.”

    Abundance comes from security. Poverty comes from insecurity.

    In finance, a “security” is a financial asset. It’s value that can be given in order to receive value back from the investment.

    You can’t receive value from something you haven’t given to, and you can’t give what you don’t already have.

    So if you find yourself lacking, the question, is, where is your security?

    If your security is found in anything other than God alone, you’ll always find yourself lacking, and you’ll never have enough.

    But if you can stop chasing the false security of comfort, achievement, and control, then you’ll find that the security you have left, in God alone, leaves you content and open-handed with the world.

    So the determining factor in whether or not you’ll be fulfilled isn’t found what you can gain but rather what you can give.

    Because what you give determines the value of your life.

  • Is God Always With You?

    What does it really mean for God to be with you?

    Scripture says that God is always present.

    Psalm 139:8 says, “If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!”

    But Scripture also says multiple times that God will never leave us or forsake us.

    Jesus said in Matthew 28:20, “I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

    Hebrews 13:5 reminds us of this: ‘…God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’” 

    This line is echoing God’s promise in Deuteronomy 31:6 to never leave or forsake his people.

    In that sense, God isn’t just present, he’s also with those who follow Jesus.

    In Isaiah 41:10, God says, “fear not, for I am with you.”

    Joshua 1:9 says, “the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

    Psalm 23:4 says, “I will fear no evil, for you are with me.”

    1 Corinthians 3:16 tells us that we are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in us. 

    Dwelling involves a conscious choice to not just be present but to also to be committed to the wellbeing of the home.

    There’s a big difference between being present with someone and being with someone.

    Being present is a matter of logistics. It involves putting yourself in the same space as someone else. God is present with everyone.

    Being with someone, on the other hand, is a matter of the heart and will. It’s a conscious choice to align with someone not just physically but also mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

    Many parents are physically present with their kids but not emotionally with them.

    Sometimes, as children of God, we can find ourselves believing the same about God:

    We know that God will never leave us in the sense that he will always be present; we’re just not sure that he’s with us.

    You can’t go anywhere God isn’t.

    But then there’s another piece of God‘s character. 

    He’s on your side, wishing and willing your good in all circumstances.

    It’s often very difficult to see God as someone who’s rooting for us to win and willing it to be so in every moment.

    Seeing that the God of the universe is truly on your side no matter how good or bad you are gives you confidence to do the good work he’s put in front of you. 

    He’s not waiting for you to get your act together. 

    He’s waiting for you to realize that he wants to call your heart his home. 

    And he knows, of course, that once you open your heart to him, then the right actions will flow from that naturally.

    When our actions start flowing from our understanding that God is actually with us and not just around us, then the goodness we’ve been chasing starts following us instead.

  • Can I Be Ambitious and Still Follow God’s Will?

    We all have things we want to accomplish. We all have ambition.

    Ambition is simply the tension between where we want to get and where we’re currently at.

    Whether we realize it or not, our worldviews, our beliefs, and our actions all flow from our ambitions. 

    And God is okay with that.

    In fact, he ordains and blesses ambition.

    From the beginning of time, God created an ideal for mankind.

    He said he put mankind on the earth to watch over it and to keep it – to serve it and protect it. 

    Being in God’s presence drove ambition in its purest form.

    It was only when our ambition drifted away from God’s ambition for us that things got out of order.

    There are essentially two types of ambition: 

    • Selfish ambition
    • Selfless ambition

    Selfish ambition primarily helps us but can also benefit others.

    Selfless ambition primarily helps others but can also benefit us.

    The determining factor between selfish and selfless ambition is submission.

    Submission is what keeps ambition in check.

    God desires for his people to prosper.

    Deuteronomy 30:8-9 says, “You will again obey the Lord and follow all his commands […] Then the Lord your God will make you most prosperous in all the work of your hands”. 

    This promise of prosperity is repeated over and over again throughout Scripture. 

    One of my favorite examples of the promise of prosperity is in Leviticus chapter 26. 

    God is telling the Israelites that if they will obey Him then He will make them exceedingly and abundantly comfortable and successful. 

    He says things like, “you will eat all the food you want” and “I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers”. 

    It’s very difficult to read through the entire Bible and maintain the belief that God is not on a very direct mission to fulfill our ambitions and bless others through us.

    But the beautiful thing is, every good thing God gives to us is only available through submission to Him. 

    And therein lies the great dichotomy of submission and ambition. 

    Our truest and purest ambitions are only fulfilled when we give them up and trust them to God. 

    Submission to God is trusting Him, rather than ourselves, to fulfill our desires.

    Submission, then, isn’t choosing something less than what we want because someone else said so; it’s choosing to allow God to fulfill our God-centered ambitions for both ourselves and for others.

    Ambition is not something to be feared. 

    Ambition in submission to God is an expression of faith. 

    Whenever we shy away from ambition, we’re playing it safe.

    We either don’t believe we have what it takes or we can’t trust God for it.

    So we put on a mask of fear and call it contentment.

    Fighting the fight of faith involves pressing into ambition while maintaining submission to God. 

    This is the call on all our lives, not just some. 

    Many people live in fear because they misunderstand contentment. 

    When Paul writes, “godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Timothy 6:6), he’s teaching Timothy to find all he needs in God alone regardless of circumstances.

    He’s teaching him to lack nothing (Psalm 23).

    When you lack nothing, ambition becomes a way for your blessings to become other people’s blessings. (Genesis 12:2)

    Paul repeatedly encouraged Timothy to use his gifts while also not getting caught up in needing acceptance or worldly wealth.

    This is a perfect picture of ambition under submission.

    Just before the verse where Paul talks about contentment, he says this to Timothy:

    “…devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given you…” (1 Timothy 4:13-14). 

    He’s telling him to step into his gifts instead of shying away from them.

    In the first chapter of Paul’s second letter to Timothy, Paul tells him, “…fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:6-7). 

    We love quoting that verse, but the fear that Paul was specifically targeting was the fear of using ambition for God’s glory.

    Fear leads us to shrink into the shadows and call it contentment.

    God calls us to step out of our comfort zone to use the gifts and talents as an expression of faith. 

    And in that process we grow closer to God. Because it requires cultivating ambition and giving it to God through submission.

  • Without Loving People, You Can’t Fully Know God. Here’s Why.

    No matter who you are or how spiritual you are, your view of God is incomplete.

    No matter how much you know, what you know about God is only a portion of the full picture.

    We like to think that what we currently know is all there is to be known. 

    At least, until we learn something new.

    Then, once we realize that we weren’t 100% right, we think that by adding what we knew before to what we now know, we can now be 100% right again.

    But we’re always missing at least some portion of truth. 

    Think back to the things you believed to be true a decade ago. You only had part of the picture. (And it’s still true today.)

    So how could we think that we alone could see the full picture of God?

    Paul, talking about the resurrection, says, “Now I know in part; then I shall know fully…” (1 Corinthians 13:12)

    What we believe to be true about God is only a portion of the picture of who God really is in all his fullness.

    In fact, it’s impossible to fully know God strictly from your own personal perspective.

    He’s too big for any one person to understand.

    Paul said that the Church makes up the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 1:22-23)

    In other words…

    Christ is fully known only through the Church collectively.

    Different parts of the body of Christ come together to create a whole picture.

    You can’t know God fully outside of community in God’s church.

    Ephesians 3 goes more in depth about how God’s purpose is to use the variety of believers within the body of Christ to showcase God’s glory to the world.

    Paul calls it the “manifold wisdom of God” which just means “many diverse manifestations.”

    In Ephesians 2, Paul also talks about how believers are like stones being built together on the cornerstone of Jesus into a dwelling place for God. 

    Each of us fits together to create the environment where God is fully known.

    Here’s another way to put it:

    Our view and knowledge of God is limited by our unity within the Body of Christ.

    In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he’s talking to a diverse group of Christians in a large, thriving city.

    The church was brand new and there were many types of people with many different types of beliefs. 

    And here’s what he says to them:

    He prays that they would be rooted and established in love, which can only exist in community.

    Then he prays that they would have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge. 

    This, he says, will lead them to being filled with the fullness of God.

    Notice the order.

    The fullness of God – the full knowledge of him that goes beyond what we can personally understand – is only experienced together with all the Lord’s people, rooted in love for one another.

    Jesus was once asked what’s the greatest commandment in God’s Law. 

    He said that the first and greatest commandment is to love God. 

    But then he says something interesting. 

    He says that there’s a second commandment that is like the first, and that is to love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:37-40) 

    The phrase Jesus used when he said that the second commandment “is like” the first commandment is a word in Greek that means the same as or of equal rank.

    When you put Paul’s teaching in the context of what Jesus taught about loving others, the picture becomes much clearer…

    The only way we truly come to know God in all his fullness is within the context of community with other believers.

    In isolation, our view of God is always slightly incomplete.

    There’s a portion of God’s character that you can only experience through other believers.

    Of course, the friction of someone else’s view of God rubbing against our view of God is really uncomfortable.

    But in that friction, we get to wrestle with the parts of God we didn’t previously know.

    Unity drives God’s blessings according to Psalm 133, and unity is how the world comes to know Jesus, according to John 17.

    So when people frustrate you, remember that you both need each other to see the full picture and know God fully.

    And without the other, you’ll both miss out on what you’re intended to get.

  • When Preparation Become Avoidance

    One of the biggest misconceptions created by personal development culture is that we always need just a little more.

    Just a little more experience or knowledge, then we’ll be ready to face what we’re afraid of.

    Through this lens, fear is something we can overcome with preparation.

    But what we’re often saying is, “I’m not sure this will work out, so I’m going to delay it.”

    And we end up feeding the fear that’s keeping us from taking action.

    You’ll never be fully ready and you’ll never out-prepare fear. 

    You’ll never have enough knowledge or money or experience.

    The only way to overcome irrational fear is to plan and take action quickly.

    Knowledge can only go so far in overcoming a lie. 

    Fear cannot always be circumnavigated or overcome. 

    Most of the time you just have to go through it.

    So the question is, what stopped you?

    Was it really a roadblock? 

    Or were you delaying uncertainty?

    Maybe you should do it anyway.