As followers of Christ, we should find and remember these truths as we interact with one another – especially to those who are lost. When we cease to remember that we are deeply loved, we need to sacrificially give, and we must be radically generous, we end up missing the mark of what it truly means to be a follower of Christ. By remembering what it is to be deeply loved, we need to look into what that word really means, so let’s look at the word as it is – love. To be deeply loved comes from the Greek word, agape, which literally means an unconditional love that is in its highest form from God.

 

When discussing the depth of love with Holton, he expressed, “When we, as followers of Christ realize our identity in Him, it gives us a glimpse of how great His love is for us.” This perspective underscores the profound truth that everyone is created by God and fearfully and wonderfully made. How God feels about us needs to be practiced within ourselves so that we can reciprocate that love to others. No one deserves God’s love more than another, as Romans 5 says; even when we were His enemies, He died for us out of love. We played no part in Jesus’ sacrifice. Now, we must embrace that love, remember it, and share it with everyone around us.

 

One thing to take into consideration is this deep love is not always convenient. To love someone unconditionally means that there might be times when we have to give up our time or even our safety and comfort. This next step that Holton personified with his staff was that in a life that follows Christ, sometimes to give, it needs to be sacrificial. To give sacrificially is to give things that might be difficult to simply hand over like time away from your family, funds that you’ve saved up for the shopping trip coming up, the deer meat you scored from your latest hunting trip, the sunglasses you’re wearing but the person in front of you can hardly see so you give yours to them. Whatever it is, sometimes it can be hard to sacrificially give, but Christ said it Himself in John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” That was the ultimate sacrifice that Christ paid for us, and God forbid we will have to lay down our life for another, but what we must do if we are following Christ is this - to remember to give sacrificially, to die to ourselves daily, and be willing to go the extra mile for someone who might not even thank us, let alone give us a second look.

 

As we bore witness to Holton’s conviction and calling, the first two truths to remember would all be in vain if it weren’t for the final truth - be radically generous. To be radically generous is to be a cheerful and dare we say, hilarious giver. Paul commends the church in Corinth in 2 Corinthians 9 to give generously and cheerfully, why? Well because at the end of the day, everything belongs to the Lord. When we recognize that we are deeply loved by the Lord, we then must deny ourselves and give sacrificially. When that giving is done with the right purpose, we can then be radically and even hilariously generous.

 

We are not our own, but vessels and missionaries for Christ’s Kingdom. If we are following these three truths, then are we indeed making it difficult for people to choose Hell? The answer should be a resounding, YES! The conviction that our brother and coworker, Holton held has permeated into the hearts of the staff and community of TRM. It is all the work of the Holy Spirit, that by the deep love of the Father that we have been set free and are convinced beyond any shadow of a doubt that He freely gave for us, so we must at least try to do the same for Him. So, as we celebrate the work of the Holy Spirit through Holton, the question we want to ask you is this: Are you willing to be deeply loved? Are you willing to sacrificially give? Are you ready to be radically generous? If so, you’ll also need to be ready to make it difficult for those who don’t know Jesus to choose Hell. Brothers and sisters, for the sake of our Lord, let’s do this. Let’s make it difficult for people and let them know how deeply loved they are. †