The Apostle Paul states that to grasp the dimensions of Love is to be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. The Love of God is as big as God in all His fullness. He is Love, it’s His very substance and reality. The Love of God is not a tamed lion because He is not a tamed lion. It cannot be caged, boxed or packaged. Any attempt to control or contain it will ultimately result in it being traded for something that is not true Love, or in the destruction of the intended container.

Jesus was labelled as a rebel, a rule breaker, as the leader of an insurrection. When faced with a man with a withered hand he heals on the sabbath. When a woman caught in the very act of adultery is dragged before him he does not condemn. When the unclean cry out for mercy he reaches out and touches the untouchable. He’s simultaneously a compassionate friend of the unrighteous and a confrontational force right in the face of the self-righteous. Whilst we tend to label and put people in boxes, Love cannot be contained within a box, Love breaks boxes, Love breaks the rules, Love ignores labels and imparts true value and identity. The Love of God tears down walls, crosses cultural boundaries and deeply offends the sanctimonious. Where would Jesus be standing today with the LGBTQ community? Would he be standing on the outside looking on in judgement or would he be utterly at peace in their midst; embracing and imparting value with pure wisdom and compassion? Love will always destroy the boxes of our limited perceptions, it will even unapologetically run a plough through our ever imperfect theology. Love is as big as God, and He is not defined by our judgements or opinions; He is free and His love is unfettered, limitless and all-powerful.

We tend to evaluate on the basis of outward appearance and behaviour, we’ve been told repeatedly from childhood that first impressions count. Love, on the other hand, is first impressed by the person, the son, the daughter, the child. Last June Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un met in Singapore to discuss denuclearisation and the reduction of economic sanctions. We endured a gluttony of political manoeuvring and bravado as each sought to one-up the other and gain the political high ground. Ultimately the outcome has had little tangible or lasting effect. As I look at them both, beyond their behaviour, pomp and circumstance, I see two little boys who’s hearts need to meet Love! Love covers. Love reaches past our outward behaviour, strengths and failures to the child within. It doesn’t say wrong is right or false is true, that wouldn’t be Love either, but Love sees the priceless value of every child of God, continually reaching out to both lost and found. Love is as big as God. He is not intimidated by our behaviour or bravado; He is free and His love is unfettered, limitless and all-powerful.

As Nia and I travel the nations sharing the Love of the Father, we often hear people say things like: ‘We need the love of the Father in our church’ or ‘We need this in our missions organisation’ or ‘How can we integrate this into our training?’ In the past we had similar sentiments ourselves. As soon as you try to package Love or put Love in a box, it will either be displaced by a list of legalistic dos and don’ts, or it will break the container into which you try to force it. We’ve seen both happen. You can’t turn love into a program or it will quickly become rules and performance. If we try to shoe-horn it into any church or organisation, it will simply break the container, ultimately dividing communities into those that see and those that do not, those who have received and those who have not. Love meets us in our boxes but can never itself be boxed. Love is like yeast that naturally spreads through the whole loaf causing it to rise. Love is like a mustard seed that unexpectedly grows to become the largest of trees on whose branches the birds perch. Love is as big as God. He is not controlled or contained within any box, program, church, denomination or organisation – they’re all far too small! He is free and His love is unfettered, limitless and all-powerful.

Recently Nia and I had the privilege of helping pioneer one of our Fatherheart Ministries schools in a new location. The outcome was deep, impacting and far-reaching. In light of its success it would perhaps be natural to ask when we should do another school. Yet there was a very real sense of a spiritual beachhead of Love being rooted and established, not a program to be repeated, but a garden to be tended and cared for. Should we run another school? Maybe… But more importantly, what does it look like to walk with Father in the garden that He is tending and establishing?

Sometimes in our insecurity we try to put up walls around ministry or what we perceive to be our ministry turf. In my brokenness they become my church, my area of ministry, my town, my city, my nation, my A School. To do thus is to hose down and suffocate the fire of Love. Love is like wild horses, powerful and free, not to be confined within a stable. On at least two occasions King David could have taken the kingdom from Saul by force, David’s men even encouraged him that it must be God giving Saul into his hand. But David refused to reach out and take, recognising that the kingdom was a gift to be received and nurtured, not a right to be taken and defended. Yet I find myself afraid that I will lose what I have, that someone will take it from me, when the truth is that to give Love away is to watch it run free and multiply beyond measure. Love is as big as God. He is not diminished by our fears or secured by our control; He is free and His love is unfettered, limitless and all-powerful.