The Relational Kingdom of Love

By this, everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another. — John 13:35

What if the Church, in its attempt at the great commission, has run right past what really draws the world to Christ? Maybe the answer is as simple—and as challenging—as genuine love, instead of weighty scriptures, judgment, gossip, or finger-pointing. In John 3:17, the Bible says that even Jesus wasn’t sent to judge the world, but to give it life. We might tell ourselves we’re not quick to judge, but honestly, it’s a habit that creeps in more than we’d like to admit.  I dang sure know that I all too often miss the mark when it comes to being judgmental toward others. The good thing is, as AT often says, “There’s grace for that.”

If there’s grace for us, shouldn’t we be giving that same grace to others in love? Isn’t that the point of the grace we’ve received—to give it away? Everything we’ve been given is meant to be shared. This treasure in earthen vessels—Christ in us, the hope of glory, is the weighty measure of God’s love and grace. It is meant to be released and expressed through our lives, transforming the world around us. Just as Jesus said in Matthew 10:8, “Freely you have received; freely give.”

What God gives us is meant to be given away. But no matter how profound a revelation I receive from the Father in our intimate moments, if I lack relational equity with those around me, I have little genuine influence with them. In God’s Kingdom, real transformation happens through relationship, and the currency of that relationship is always love.

Jesus said the world would know us by our love for one another. I don’t want to blow your mind here, but that Greek word for “know” means an intimate, firsthand knowledge—the same sense as when Adam “knew” Eve, and she bore him a child. True relationship is kindled through a genuine offering of love, the kind of love that God is, Agape. It is a choice, not just a feeling. People will be drawn to us, become acquainted with us, and be willing to invest in relationship because of our love for them. Love always wins.

I didn’t grow up in church, though I had friends who did. My only exposure to Christianity early on came through my relationships with them. In every case, it was my relationship and trust in my friends through love—as imperfect as they were—that led me to Jesus, and, not necessarily my experiences in their churches.

I would later meet a man when I was a young feller, trying to accomplish great things in the bull riding world. (Obviously, that didn’t work out for me! And even though I never became a great rider, I did become a great ‘writer’! 😂 See what I did there?) It was through my passion and zeal to chase my dreams that God led me to Andy Taylor. Now, I certainly will not deify him. But what I will tell you is this: flawed as he may be, just like the rest of us, in his humanity, I saw more of Jesus in him than I had ever seen anywhere or in anyone. I had no idea that’s what it was at the time. I didn’t realize it until it was too late—I bought in hook, line, and sinker! It was the magnetic Kingdom atmosphere, irresistible to all of creation: Agape Love.

AT, if you are reading this, simmer down. We both know it was Christ in you, the hope of glory! I have an entire section in a book I am currently writing, called “The Kingdom Factor,” about the impact of the Taylor legacy on my family. I can assure you, that impact isn’t limited to just our family; there are a whole lot more of ‘em out there. I cannot wait to share the whole story with you all soon!

All that being said, here’s the point: No matter how much I messed up or how imperfect I was, AT never scolded, judged, or hurt me. He just loved me. I had never experienced that expression of love from a father figure before, and it changed everything. He loved me with all my flaws, never pointing them out. Because of that, I would still give my last breath for him today. Love is the only thing that ever saved my life—the love of THE FATHER, first revealed to me through this genuine-hearted man who would become my life-long spiritual father.

Over time, this investment of love built the trust and cultivated the depth needed for him to speak the truth, hard truths, and even correction, into my life. That’s when I began to understand the currency of the Kingdom: Love. Where there’s no love, there is no flow of currency. There is no medium of exchange, no influence, and no relational investment. Because of its lack, there is only rejection for words spent in good intention. In the Kingdom, love is the only investment that brings real change. The greatest display of this is: For God so LOVED the world that He GAVE His only Son. Love builds relational equity—and that buys trust, the foundation of faith.

This love, as Peter said, covers a multitude of sins. When I look at you through the eyes of love—and remember, God is love—I don’t see your sin or your failures. Instead, I see you, with all the beauty and potential the Father placed in you. That’s what changes lives: seeing people as God does, and loving them accordingly. Only by this kind of love will the world truly see Jesus in us. And as my good friend David VanChronkite once said, “If the Kingdom of God is anything—and it is everything—it’s relational.” May our lives be living proof of the relational Kingdom of love. For it is the reality and expression of the Father on earth as it is in Heaven. As the Apostle Paul said, Above all things, let us put on love, which is the bond of perfection. I say we go out and start spending love like there is no tomorrow! Isn’t that what God did in John 3:16? Love—never fails.

May love be our legacy.

In the passionate pursuit of His Kingdom,

Pastor Jason

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