Love Comes First

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Laurie Coombs

I received a letter from Anthony (the man who murdered my dad) a couple weeks ago. In it, he said, “I also know you feel as I do, if only one person read [our testimony] and came to Jesus because of it, because of our pain, tears, repentance, and forgiveness, all of it was worth it.”

Anthony is right. And He got me thinking.

If our story saves one––only one––I do believe my efforts to share what God has done is all worth it. Yet, I also believe Jesus called me to share this story with many. In fact, I believe I’m called to write a book about it.

What It Takes to Publish Today

When writing a book, you hear a lot about the need to build a “platform” or establish a “tribe” of followers who engage with you both on your blog and on social media (Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest…) who will then become your audience for your proposed book. Even though all this “platform building” feel like self-promotion––which makes me ridiculously uncomfortable––I’ve been doing it, nonetheless, attempting to promote Jesus instead of myself.

Building a platform is a necessary step toward publishing.

But it can so quickly become about the numbers. How many people are reached with each post? How many visitors to my blog each day, week, month? How many Twitter followers? How many Facebook likes? And the list goes on.

But what gets lost amid the numbers is love. Each of those numbers represents a soul. A soul Jesus loves and wants to help. We are all called to love one another. We’re all called to minister to one another. It may look different for some people than for others, but the call is all the same. Love.

My Followers?

And here’s the thing: My “followers” are not my followers, they’re Jesus’ followers. [Tweet that] A sweet friend pointed that out to me the other night, and I appreciated the perspective.

This issue is not a new one, either. It was found long before the emergence of social media and platform building. The Corinthian church faced the same problem. In 1 Corinthians 1:12-14 and 1:17 Paul says,

What I mean is that each one of you says, ‘I follow Paul,’ or ‘I follow Apollos,’ or ‘I follow Cephas,’ or ‘I follow Christ.’Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? …For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

It is Jesus who needs to be center. We don’t need Laurie followers, we need Jesus followers!

All You Need is Love (Love Before Mission)

My calling––and your calling too––needs to come from a place of love, for without love there is no real impact. [Tweet that] Sure, some may be intrigued by our stories, but the impact will be little without love.

And I confess that I have lost the love I had at first. But I’m praying for grace. I need a complete paradigm shift to take place through the mercy and grace of God.

It’s not about numbers. It’s not about me. It’s not even about my story.

It’s about Jesus.

It’s about loving God and loving people. Sound familiar? It’s the Great Commandment Jesus spoke of in both Matthew and Mark.

The Great Commandment comes before anything else. Yet, it is followed by the Great Commission.

The Great Commission is our mission in this world. Jesus tells us, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).

We do have a mission––to share the message of the Gospel with the world. But the mission doesn’t come before the commandment to love. [Tweet that]

The cart doesn’t come before the horse!

Love is first. Always. [Tweet that]

Yet, we have a job to do. And for some of us that job may require the use of social media, but it is all to be motivated by love. Just as the title of Bob Goff’s book says, “Love Does.” (This is a great book, by the way, one of my favorites!)

I’ve somehow gotten things a little backwards lately. And for that I am sorry, I repent, and I pray that all I do is derived out of my love for Jesus and for His people. If you could join me in this prayer, I’d greatly appreciate it. The prayer of many is powerful, and I want to get this one right.

Back to what Anthony said. If I can impact only one through my love, it will all be worth it.

{Love comes first.}

Question: Have you experienced this? Any words of wisdom you would like to share? Share in the comments.

To read more about my journey toward forgiveness, read Freedom Through Grace or {Redemption} Your Testimony May Have Saved a Life.

{Lessons Learned} When Jesus Calls, Follow

Posted on January 24, 2013 by Laurie Coombs

We’re called to follow Jesus daily through every little intricacy life has to offer.

But there are times Jesus calls us to follow Him to do something much bigger, something that will alter the course of our lives.

I have two such events in my life.

The first was the call to love and forgive Anthony, the man who murdered my dad.

The second was to write about this experience––both on this blog and to begin writing a book––to show others just what God can do when we choose to follow Him.

Now, you would think the difficulty came when called to interact with the man who murdered my dad. But when Jesus beckoned me to follow Him toward forgiveness––which I knew would require that I delve into the deepest, darkest parts of my soul––I was given grace to follow immediately, without reservation, without rebellion, without questioning Jesus or reasoning with Him. The outcome, as you may know, was mind-blowing. (If you have yet to read about what God did through this journey toward forgiveness, read here or here, along with many other posts on this blog.)

But when I was called to write––I hate to admit this––but I fought Jesus with all I had.

Now, oddly enough, it’s not that I did not want to write––I enjoy writing. It’s not that I did not want to share my testimony––I wanted to share, I wanted the whole world to know what God had done. It’s not that I did not want to bring glory to God, for that’s the sole driving force behind all that I do. In fact, I want my life to be a huge banner pointing to the glory of God as a follower of Christ.

I think, perhaps, it was fear that hindered me from following right away.

Honestly, when called to write, I knew God was placing His call on my life. It was what He wanted me to do. Forgiving Anthony felt more like a task (which is a bad way to look at it, I know). But the call to write required a lifelong commitment to my calling, which intimidated me.

When called to write, I thought I had submitted myself to Jesus, but soon, it became clear that I was still holding on to part of my life. I still wanted to control my future. I knew then, as I do now, that He would lead me to great things, things beyond my wildest imagination. But obeying still proved to be difficult.

Finally, after months of wrestling with God, I agreed, and I began to write. During my quiet time with Jesus, He pointed me to Matthew 21:28-31:

“What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?”They said, “The first”….

Jesus was telling me: Yes, you’ve fought me. Yes, you’ve been rebellious, but now… now, you are on the right path. You are doing your Father’s will.

It would have been so much easier to simply follow Jesus when He originally called. How we begin our race, however, isn’t nearly as important as how we finish. What, ultimately, matters is where we find ourselves on our last day.

We are to run this race well, as Paul says. We’re to fight the good fight of faith, but in order to do that, we must follow Jesus. He is our Good Shepherd who guides us along the difficult, narrow path leading us to the gates of eternity.

One thing is clear. We cannot accomplish this apart from Jesus.

So, when Jesus calls, follow. [Tweet that]

{When Jesus calls, follow.}

Share your testimony. How has following Jesus impacted your life?

Join the discussion! Leave a comment.

To read more about my journey toward forgiveness, read Freedom Through Grace or {Redemption} Your Testimony May Have Saved a Life.

God Wants to Use You!

Posted on November 6, 2012 by Laurie Coombs

Shortly after forgiving Anthony, I closed one of my letters to him with this:

I pray for God’s will in your life, and that He uses you where you are for His purposes to further the Gospel! Be an ambassador right where you are! Be sure not to waste your life in there. I believe we’re all placed right where we’re supposed to be. I was listening to a sermon by John Piper the other day…what was so prominent about this particular sermon was his call for all God’s children to not waste their lives. Most of us do, and that’s a tragedy. Just because you’re in prison, doesn’t mean that you’ve wasted your life. Allow the Spirit of God to use you in there to transform lives according to His will!!! Do not let my dad’s death be in vain. Do not let your life be in vain. God wants to use you!

I hope you are well.

Take care and God bless,

Laurie

It’s a profound truth to be told that no matter what situation you find yourself in, you can still be used by God. Nothing that we do, no sin that we commit can disqualify us from serving Jesus. This truth is controversial. It’s counter-cultural. And it can seem ludicrous!

But God’s ways are not ours. I heard a pastor once say that God will continually fill that which we offer Him to fill. In other words, when we’re willing, when we lay ourselves down before the Lord and ask Him to use us, He does.

Each of us has a calling. Callings are not reserved for those who have it all together, or for those who seem to be the Christian elite, or even for those that some tout to be the “heroes” of the Bible. No. God has a call on each of our lives. The question is: Will you offer yourself up to be used?

Just as Pastor John Piper says, “Don’t waste your life!” Submit yourself to the Lord and you will begin to witness a powerful move of God in and through you!

{Nothing can disqualify you from serving the Lord.}