“I’m calling a people who will be called by my name and who will be holy even as I am holy. A people clothed in my righteousness by my blood—a people who obey me, a people who love me.
You say you love me, but you are not obedient to my commandments! I say, love me! Love me! Hunger after me and thirst after me that you might know me! That you would rejoice in my holiness! That your greatest pleasure would be to worship me in the beauty of my holiness! That you might know me! That you might know me…that you might know me.
I am calling. I am calling a church. I died, I died, I died for the church! I’m calling a people. I’m calling a people who will be holy. I am calling a people who will be holy. The world will not be won, the world will not be won by your filth. That’s not what they need. They need me. They need to know my holiness. They need to be as John when he fell down as a dead man! They need to see me like that. There needs to be a fear.”
Seven Callings
There were seven “callings” by the Spirit in this section of His Direct Word, as He called us:
• To be called by His name;
• To be holy, clothed in His righteousness;
• To be the church;
• To be obedient;
• To love Him;
• To hunger and thirst after Him;
• To be fearful.
Today, I am going to focus on His call to love Him.
In the natural world, some studies have shown three stages of love[1] and I can honestly say that I have experienced those same stages in my love for the Lord.
Stage of Love #1: Romantic Love
The first stage, Romantic Love, begins with a strong physical and emotional attraction that produces a somewhat altered state of consciousness. (I won’t go into any detail how I was totally infatuated and thus “altered” when I met my future wife, Diane 😊)
However, I can easily relate that feeling when I first gave my heart to the Lord on November 7, 1981. The blissful, warm, “everything is beautiful” perception was so very real. I remember I drove home that night from revival feeling like Jesus was sitting shotgun in my Bronco!
Stage of Love #2: Power Struggle
Reality sets in with the second stage of love know as Power Struggle. As infatuation and romantic love subside, healthy relationships go through a period of adjustment with continuing power struggles. It is common during this stage for each partner to try and mold the other into their ideal mate.
It is this state in the spiritual where I find myself continuing to grow. It is where my will battles God’s. I am certainly not trying to change Him. The power struggle is me resisting the change to be more like Him.
Stage of Love #3: Unconditional Acceptance
The last stage, Unconditional Acceptance, is when a healthy relationship moves beyond regular power struggles and control issues to unconditional love and acceptance.
This is what I call in my spiritual walk being a bondslave to the Lord. It is when I allow His Spirit to totally control areas in my life. I am released from trying it my way and simply embrace His will and way without reservation.
I readily admit there is great peace in the stage of Unconditional Acceptance, and I believe this is the love the Spirit is calling us to.
