LOVE...even the beatles wrote about it,  "All You Need is LOVE".. But the world shows us conditional, or contract love.  Jesus models unconditional love, or covenent love.  This chapter describes our God who loves without condition - Who loves each of us, even as the sinners that we are.

This is a very simple concept, but one that is truly hard to grasp.   Even when we break our contracts, He loves us! Scripture tell us that GOD IS LOVE....so when HE LOVES US, it is just Him being WHO HE is.....love is not just an attribute that He possesses, it is Him.  Jesus could become angry at something and that is an attribute He had....He is NOT anger.  This is a huge difference.  "Jesus LOVES me this I know...." is a great truth and when we really understand the unconditional love He offers, we change the way we love others.  As a coach, that is the love I want to show each of my team members, but I fall short everyday.  Why? Jane is NOT love.  When I love it is an attribute or a fruit of the spirit. I what I do or feel, not WHO I am.  So I am much more familiar with conditional love, and
sometimes when someone breaks a contract with me, I withdraw my love.  That, my friend is NOT the love Christ models and Jims teachings helped me to understand that.

• Once again, Jim deals with performance based acceptance! He explains how this leads to legalism and has a great definition of it:  "the attempt to earn GOD's love through our actions; or avoid GOD's curses through pious activities".   Before I took Jim's class, I had a check list of the activities I did that would earn His love and favor. Perhaps my daily quiet time was at the top of the list! What activitiy have you falsely believed earned you favor with God?
• The prodigal son! This is one of the classic stories of the Bible. But this story has three characters that can teach us, not just one:  the father, the elder brother, and the prodigal son.  Can you relate to ALL of them in different situations you face as a coach?
• Please reread the 2nd paragraph on page 102 "...only one thing that seperates us from GOD, and it is not our sin.   It is our self righteousness..." it ends "Instead you grumble."  Can you think of times you grumble about the actions of your players when you should rejoice?
• George Herbert's poem (with the help of Jim's explanations) really blew me away! The "quick-ey'd love" that he wrote about resonated with me.  How can we observe our players with this "quick-ey'd love" like Jesus? What image does this bring to your mind?
• Of all the spiritual disciplines we practiced, the lectio divina was one that I had difficulty with!  What are your thoughts and did it connect with you?
• Look for opportunities this week that the Lord will give you to love your staff, players, and people around you with the LOVE that Jim describes in this chapter....