I was inspired and encouraged to see Adam Roseblade's recent stunt. It is a great story and he has written up for us to read here. Adam is student worker at Kings Church in Portsmouth.
“Love makes fools of us all” – This was the challenging idea that seemed to become lodged in my mind as the Holy Spirit began to stir among us one Sunday evening in October.
“What is love anyway?” I thought, and…“When we really love someone, how do we let them know that? When someone proposes to the one they love, don’t they embrace a cost in order to underline the true and genuine strength of their feelings? Don’t they invest time, money, effort, and don’t they so often lay something of their own reputation down by kneeling, or publicly declaring their love in a crowded restaurant or in front of a baseball crowd? Isn’t the reality that to love someone costs something?”
My thoughts continued to spiral, and then came the crunch:
“Is that how I love God? Do I really love Him in a greater way than even my family?
As I leaned in, eager to listen to the whispering voice of God, these words translated into a vision that seemed to connect me that bit more deeply with something of the Father’s heart. It suddenly hit me with greater clarity that Jesus CHOSE the cross, which is foolishness to those who are perishing and He scorned its shame in order to powerfully underline His passion for you and me!
Along with the vision came another question:
“Am I willing to deliberately CHOOSE to embrace the cost of looking foolish in order to underline my love for my God and to help underline His love for others?”
I knew God was asking me to enact the vision, and also that come Monday morning I’d feel rather less enthusiastic about that prospect, so I asked others on our leadership team to hold me accountable! A few weeks later, having decided NOT to ask anyone to film events, we arrived at the location intent on simple obedience only to bump into one of our media team there who offered to capture it on his phone, so if you want to see the vision in action you can:
