Andy Glover, Revival to the Nations

10 hours ago

Love Is a Downward Movement

One of the things that has struck me in recent weeks is the depth of my love for our children. Even though they are now grown and building their own lives and families, our love for them remains constant. We pray for them, support them, encourage them. We want them to thrive—to have joyful lives, strong families, and to become all that they were created to be.

Nowadays, when we’re with them, we find joy in listening to their hearts, hearing their ideas, and walking with them as they navigate their own journeys. And now, as our grandchildren are being born, the mantle of love continues—flowing in a beautiful, downward movement from one generation to the next.

I often find encouragement in listening to Gunilla share on the “Motherheart” of God. One of the reasons she teaches this so powerfully is because she lives it—she embodies it. One story she often tells is about the birth of our firstborn, David. She describes how, the moment he came into the world, her heart was overwhelmed with a deep, overwhelming love for this tiny child. She knew instinctively that this was something God had placed within her—a divine compassion uniquely given for her child.

In Hebrew, the word for compassion is “rachamim” it is where the word for “womb” comes from. Compassion, then, is something birthed within; it is formed as the child is formed. It is given by the Father to the mother and flows from her to the child—a sacred, downward movement of love.

As I’ve reflected on this, I’ve come to see how this pattern is also true in the spiritual realm. There is a downward movement of love from heaven into our hearts. Stephen Hill, in his book “Freedom from Religion”, beautifully highlights this idea, and his insights helped me see it more clearly. Through further reflection, I’ve come to believe that the love a child has for their mother will never exceed the love the mother has for the child. That’s how God intended it: love flows downward—initiated by the parent, received by the child.

The same principle is absolutely true in our relationship with the Father. What we see in the natural family is a reflection—a mirror—of how heaven touches earth. Our love for God can never surpass His love for us. In fact, our love is always a response to His initiative. I worship because His love has impacted me so deeply. Worship, for me, is simply the overflow of what has already been poured into the depths of my being.

As John reminds us in 1 John 4:19, “We love Him because He first loved us.”

Receiving and abiding in that love is the very heart of the gospel and the essence of life with the Father. I cannot live the Christian life any other way. He comes, He loves, we receive, we abide. It is His work, His love, His life moving downward—into us, through us, and onward to others.

Much Love

Andy ❤️ ... See MoreSee Less