Just Love

Does Just Love Silently Endure Abuse?

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You’re never too young to pick up Just Love.

A mother from Australia sent me that picture. It made me laugh. No, she isn’t really reading it, but the picture made me wish I had been that old spiritually when I was introduced to a Gospel that had love and justness at its center instead of sin and shame, albeit without the pink pajamas. How much different my life would have been if I’d focused on the transformation that comes from the lived experience of the Father’s love.

Yesterday, Tobie and I conducted our fourth class on How Does Love Make this Right. The topic was How Does Love Respond to Injustice?  Does loving an offender mean allowing them to keep being the victim of their abuse? Does forgiveness negate the difficult consequences of someone else’s destructive behavior?

These are important questions as we learn to live inside of his love, and remind us that Just Love is not a set of principles to apply to any specific situation. It’s a way of entering into the flow of God’s life through relationship, so that he can guide us through the complicated questions that arise in our lives.

Of course, love making things right begins by redeeming us through whatever damage we may have suffered. We have to experience that before we can see how his love might lead us on the outside. So, don’t just run out seeking justice from others until God heals the damage done to our hearts and makes up for what others have done.  That needs to be very practical and can take some time.

There are obvious exceptions here. When someone’s actions are violent, illegal, and harmful to yourself or others, get away immediately. Contact law enforcement to expose the problem and protect those who are in danger. I’m writing here about more interpersonal hurts.

Once we see how God is at work in us, we will begin to sense how his love can work outside of us to make things right. That’s what I love about Just Love; it isn’t just about being kind and nice to everyone, but to become part of God’s restorative justice to whatever degree the offending party will allow. It is not resubjecting ourselves to others’ abuse in the name of love, unless God asks it of us as he did Jesus in the week of his passion. But that is extremely rare, and we do it at his leading, not others telling us to, and only for a higher purpose.

An eye to redemption, however, frames our love inside the desires of a just God. Love and justice come together in him, and, honestly, principles won’t guide us here. As I wrote at the outset, what we need is the leading of the Spirit. This is an invitation into a journey of love, shaping us on the inside—untwisting justice in our own hearts, so that we can be part of his justice unfolding in the world.

It doesn’t just ask what would love lead me to do, but more importantly, how is his Spirit leading me in that love? He may ask you to stay in a relationship that’s painful for a larger redemption, or he might lead you away to safety so you are no longer the victim of someone else’s selfishness or anger.

But whatever he asks of you, you will have the strength and courage to follow him, however he may lead.

Also, we got a wonderful review a couple of weeks ago at Mike Morell.org. Here are some excerpts I especially appreciated:

Tobie realized something seismic had just been confirmed: the very word English-speaking Christianity has used for five centuries to translate the heart of the Gospel is unintelligible — even repellent — to the people the Gospel was meant to reach…

It makes a case that is at once scholarly and devastating in its simplicity: the Greek word dikaiosynē, translated as “righteousness” in every major English Bible, is rendered as justice in every other language — German, Afrikaans, Spanish, French, Dutch. Every single one. The English deviation traces directly to the Norman Conquest of 1066, which severed English legal vocabulary from its Germanic roots, creating a religious word — “righteousness” — that conveyed personal moral status instead of right relationship, inner purity instead of just action, individual salvation instead of communal transformation…

That’s the register of this book: personal, pastoral, luminous with grace, and quietly revolutionary..

Tozer sensed it. N.T. Wright and Nicholas Wolterstorff have written about it in academic papers few will ever read. Just Love brings it home — not to theologians with PhDs, but to the “plain man and woman, the insignificant, the widow and the orphan, the poor and oppressed” for whom the justness of God was always intended…

What changes when you read justice instead of righteousness? Everything. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice.” “Seek first the justice of God.” “The Golden Rule” becomes the Golden Life — not a rule to follow, but a love to inhabit, overflowing into the world.

For the last two years, I’ve enjoyed exploring the connection between living loved and God’s passion for justice in human affairs. I find two or three situations a day that invite me to think differently about what’s going on than I have in the past.

What about you?  Would you care to share what you are learning and how it is shaping the way you live? You can do so in the comments here or send me an email.

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Great Rejoicing in Kenya

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(Note: Before I share with you a beautiful email I received yesterday, I want to let you know that I’m now planning to be in the Boston area the first weekend in October. We are already planning events in Reading and Sutton, Massachusetts. If you’re near the area and either want to join us at one of these or plan something of your own, please let me know. I do have some extra days available during the week after.]

In early August, I informed you that an orphanage of 400 children in Kenya was at risk of closing because of unpaid bills. Your generosity allowed us to pay off all their debt and correct the cash flow and management problem, so that this will not happen again. Here’s a note I received from the leader there:

I want to sincerely and humbly thank you once again for the great love, kindness, and care you have shown to us. We truly appreciate you for listening to God’s voice and allowing yourself to become such a great blessing in our lives. There are moments when I look at what is happening around us, and I feel like it is a dream. There was a time when we would wake up, and our greatest prayer was simply asking God to provide something for the children to eat. Many times, we would pray with tears, wondering where the next meal would come from.

But today, by the grace of God, our children can have breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This is something that had not happened for a very long time, and every time I see it, my heart is filled with thanksgiving to God. We know very well that this has not happened by our own strength. It has come through God’s provision and through the gift he placed in your heart to purchase the tractor for us and help us jump-start our farming project.

Brother, your obedience to God’s voice has brought a very great impact in our lives. You did not only give us a tractor; you gave us a means through which we can begin to work toward a more sustainable future. You have helped us to move from simply praying for provision to also having an opportunity to produce that provision through the land God has given us.

Please know that your kindness has gone much further than you may ever be able to see. It has touched the lives of our children, our teachers, our workers, and the entire work that God has entrusted to us. There are many people who may never get an opportunity to sit with you or personally tell you thank you, but their lives are being touched through your obedience and generosity.

We give all the glory and thanksgiving to God for what He has done, what He is doing, and what we believe He is still going to do.

Also in August, we told you that government officials approached our friends there, wanting to use Just Love in their educational system. I know, it’s an extraordinary opportunity. They asked if we could provide 5,000 copies of the book for their use. Again, thanks to your generosity, we were able to print over 7,000 books, not only for the educational system, but also for pastors and coaches helping reframe the Gospel in Kenya to love and justness, rather than sin management.

Here is the news we just received from our friends in Kenya:

We are delighted to share the wonderful news that the printing company has fulfilled its promise and successfully delivered all the new copies of Just Love. We were filled with great joy when they called to inform us that the shipment was on its way. We carefully counted every box for confirmation of 7038 copies. They added us with 150 extra books at no cost. They truly did an excellent job, with such outstanding quality and within the agreed timeframe.

We will also work together with the government and the Technical and Vocational Education and Training representatives to ensure that these materials reach the exact institutions and leaders for whom they were intended. They will collect 5,000 copies for distribution to leaders in public institutions. We pray that these books will become a lasting blessing and bring peace, healing, and transformation throughout our nation.

The rest will be distributed to our coaches, pastors, and others who will embrace this life-changing message.

Please convey our deepest gratitude to all the brothers and sisters who sacrificially supported this project. Their generosity is not in vain. At a time when Kenya is approaching a season of elections with many political parties, we believe these books will teach that the love of God has the power to transform individuals, families, communities, and an entire nation.

Although we may never meet many of these supporters on earth, we believe that one day we shall meet them in the Kingdom of God with great rejoicing. We are committed to using these books faithfully and prayerfully, allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us in every step.

This year, our brothers and sisters in the U.S. have stood with many Kenyan families in their time of need. We continually lift them before the throne of God.

We continue learning to pray and listen to the voice of God. At the recent Kampala meetings, the Lord has opened new doors for outreaches in Malawi and Mozambique, places we have had no contact with before. They have invited us to go and share about Just Love in November, but we told them that we cannot go everywhere we are invited. Instead, we desire to follow God’s voice and His perfect timing. We asked them to continue praying and trusting the Lord.

May the Lord richly bless you for the great support. We give God all the honor, praise, and glory!

Tobie and I may have written Just Love for the nation of Kenya. Our friends there have a sense that this book, along with He Loves Me, may start an awakening across Africa of the love of God and how it can transform the world. May it be!

Thank you to all who were part of both of these efforts. Because of your generosity, we were able to rescue an orphanage and provide a way for them to take care of the kids in the future. We are also part of spreading the message of God’s love and justice throughout the nation of Kenya.

Glory be to God, who has done great things!

 

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The Love that Changes Everything

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[A Special Note:  Thanks to all of you who so quickly responded to our new need in Kenya last week. It helped immensely. However, we are still about $5,000 short of what we need to meet the current need and opportunity. If you are willing to help us, please visit our Donation Page at Lifestream. Check the box for “Kenya Relief”. You can also Venmo contributions to “@LifestreamMinistries” or mail a check to Lifestream Ministries  • 107 N. Reino Rd, PMB# 411 • Newbury Park, CA 91320-3710. Or, if you prefer, I can take your donation over the phone at (805) 990-8780. As always, we send every dime you give to Kenya, and Lifestream covers all the administrative fees.]

Tobie and I spent yesterday morning with 30 people who signed up for our Zoom class, How Does Love Make this Right? Using Just Love as a backdrop, we are exploring what love in us and love through us can do to change the world we live in.

For those who could not attend, we explored the importance of coming to difficult circumstances in our lives, not out of our lack, but out of fullness. Much of interpersonal injustice begins with an inner sense of lack. When we believe another person possesses something we need—approval, respect, affection, security, agreement, or control—we may manipulate, pressure, punish, or diminish them to obtain it.

Fullness does not come from getting everything we want; it grows through connection with the loving presence of God that fills us from the inside.

Perhaps you, too, would like to contemplate some of the questions we asked:

  • What do I believe I need from other people to feel whole?
  • How does my sense of scarcity affect the way I treat them?
  • How can I become more aware of God’s presence each day?
  • What would it take for me to enter conflict from fullness rather than desperation?

And some of the Scriptures we explored:

John 7:37-39 – “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this, he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.”

Ephesians 3:14-21 — “For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

One practical way to live this out might be when we are entering a difficult circumstance or conversation, we would take a fullness pause before we react. It would take just a moment to veer into a moment of quiet and ask God.

  1. What do I feel I am lacking right now?
  2. What am I trying to get from this person?
  3. What would your love give me now for this situation, and how would that change my response?

And let me close with this email I received last week. It’s exactly how Tobie and I hope Just Love settles into the heart of every person who reads the book.  This is from Vivian:

I finished Just Love last night, and I sat with it for a long while after closing it. Not because it was difficult to read, though the weight of a single mistranslated word distorting the Gospel for centuries is as heavy as any I have encountered, but because of the freedom. The quiet, liberating freedom that runs through every page and refuses to be diminished, even by the centuries of religious performance that have so often robbed the Gospel of its power to transform us from within.

You have written something rare: a book about the Gospel that does not simply critique the past but also does not let the distortion have the final word. The exploration of how one mistranslated word has shifted the focus of Christianity from a love so vast it would transform us with joy to a religion of managing sin, performing deeds, and trying to reach heaven, that is where this book becomes more than a theological work. It becomes an invitation. A hand reaching across the page to anyone who has ever sensed that something was missing from their faith, and to anyone who believes that restoring the word Jesus used could alter the course of Christianity.

And you did not let the distortion have the final word. You took the harder path, the one that says restoring the word Jesus used reconnects our salvation with His unfolding kingdom, that the Gospel is not about managing sin but exploring love, and that this message could alter the course of Christianity. Thank you for having the courage to write with both historical insight and prophetic hope. Thank you for the invitation to discover the love that changes everything.

I hope that’s how the book touches people—as an invitation to discover a love so powerful it changes everything and quietly shapes the way they live in the world, not out of performance but the fruit of a settledness in the Father’s love and the fullness that brings.

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Will You Help Us Again in Kenya?

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I know I promised yesterday that my next blog would share what Christianity lost when it substituted a preoccupation with righteousness for learning to live in the Father’s love. Someone pointed out I’d already done that blog.  You can read it here.  I do have more I want to share on that, but it will come later.

Also, a new interview I did for the Rapt website was released today. In it, I answer eight very provocative questions that give you some unique insights into my life, most of which you haven’t heard before here.  Here’s what they said about the interview:

With books like The Shack, The Naked Church and Just Love, Wayne Jacobsen isn’t afraid to challenge the assumptions underlying the modern Christian church. Having experienced the transformation that comes with living authentically and truly loved by God, he now wants to share those life-changing experiences with others. In today’s conversation, he discusses how he cultivates intimacy with God, the projects and passions that are moving him and the resources that have ushered him into a deeper relationship with Jesus.

You can read the interview here.

But I come to you today with an urgent need in Kenya and an opportunity there.  Please know that I am careful to vet all the requests we get for support in Kenya. In addition, Sara and I meet many of them on our own and don’t bring them to you. So, when we do, it’s because the need is genuine and we would appreciate others coming alongside us to help with it.

First, the need. An orphanage has gotten behind in its bills and may have to close. The children have not eaten in a couple of days, and the staff have not been paid. There is a court hearing on Friday where bills have to be paid, or someone else will be making decisions for the orphanage. I am convinced the leadership is sound, but they simply got caught in some unforeseen circumstances that left them overextended. This need is critical, as is the timing.

Second, while I consider He Loves Me the most significant book I’ll ever write, I’m beginning to see that Just Love just may be the most consequential book I’ll ever write. The two go hand-in-hand. Until we know we are deeply loved by the God of the universe, even in our sin and brokenness, we will never know what it means to be saved by him. Most of us mistakenly believe that Jesus came to save us from his Father, when he came to free us from living in the brokenness of lovelessness and the injustice it causes in human relationships.

Just Love is the sequel I want people to explore. It shows how our focus on sin and shame has created a greater concern for personal piety instead of showing us how to explore life through love. If we let love overrun our hearts, not only do we find increasing freedom from our preoccupation with self, but we also become people who live justly alongside others. That’s how the kingdom is revealed in the earth as the natural expression of the way we live.

The two books are finding an ever-growing audience in Kenya, and there’s a demand for 5,000 copies of both books for leaders and, surprisingly, for public schools. Unfortunately, I can’t give them permission for He Loves Me, but I can for Just Love.  

Recently, I got this email from an educational officer in Kenya:

I recently came across your book, Just Love, and I have been greatly encouraged by its message.

As I reflected on it, I was reminded of the lessons that “Christianity is about relationship, not just rules,” that “God wants us to experience His life now,” and that “God’s Kingdom operates through love.” These truths continue to encourage us as we seek to share God’s love with others.

Mr. Jacobsen, as a team working within the Education Department in Kenya, we are doing our level best to reach the generation we call Gen Z, who are in universities, colleges, and high schools. Many young people today are quick to respond to conflict with anger, revenge, and violence. After going through Just Love, I am convinced that this message is a God-given assignment for this generation.

The lessons that “God’s love changes hearts,” that “love motivates lasting transformation,” and that “fear is not the foundation of spiritual growth” speak directly to the challenges our young people face. We have also been encouraged by the teaching that “God’s plan is to restore broken relationships” and that “loving others includes treating them fairly.”

The discussion about your book is continuing among our Education Department colleagues. As we share its message, more and more people are embracing the desire to obtain a copy. Many have been deeply touched by the truths that “the gospel transforms relationships,” that “God’s love should flow through us to others,” and that “faith affects every area of life.” We believe the message of forgiveness, reconciliation, and genuine love can help shape a generation that reflects God’s character and brings peace to our communities.

I would like to know whether it is possible to obtain copies of the book. I highly recommend that this book be made available for our students to read.

And Michael, our brother in Kenya also spoke about how this book is influencing Central Africa:

Since we began sharing the message of Just Love, we have witnessed conviction, healing, reconciliation, and genuine transformation in many hearts. This is not simply about reading a book and placing it on a shelf. We believe God is using this message to bring spiritual renewal. We do not know what the Lord intends to accomplish through Just Love. There are countless books written about love and conflict resolution, but perhaps God has chosen this particular message for such a time as this.

Our joy also is found in simply being faithful to the assignment the Lord has given us. We have already begun planning outreach throughout Kenya and into East and Central Africa, carrying the message of Just Love. Our greatest desire is not merely to distribute books. Rather, we long to build small groups where people can meet face to face, share their hearts, experience God’s love together, and then disciple others. Books become much more effective when they are accompanied by genuine relationships and discipleship.

Even if one day we have the opportunity to provide books to government institutions, our priority will always be to meet people personally, share the message heart to heart, and then place the book into their hands. Transformation happens through the work of the Holy Spirit in living relationships.

We need about $15,000 to address these two needs. If you carry this on your heart and would enjoy being part of it with us, please visit our Donation Page at Lifestream. Check the box for “Kenya Relief”. You can also Venmo contributions to “@LifestreamMinistries” or mail a check to Lifestream Ministries  • 107 N. Reino Rd, PMB# 411 • Newbury Park, CA 91320-3710. Or, if you prefer, we can take your donation over the phone at (805) 990-8780.

As always, every dime you send will end up in Kenya. We do not take out any money for our administrative costs.

 

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How the Early Church Viewed Salvation

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[Note: There is still room in our first Just Love Zoom Discussion if you still want to join us. We will meet six times over the next eight weeks to take a practical look at how love fills us with his goodness and writes his justice on our hearts. That will change every human interaction we have in the world. This is not a book study of the content of Just Love, but a conversation about applying love and fullness to the interactions in our lives. We have room for eight more. If you’re interested, email me.]

I know many of you have questions about how AI will affect our future, concerned that it may well destroy human society in the long run. I share that. But as a research tool in the short term, it can be incredibly helpful.

Recently, I asked ChatGPT to scan through the writings of the early church fathers (up to AD 200) and synthesize how the concept of justice played into their message and their view of salvation. I did not prompt it with anything from our new book, but just wanted to know how the theme of justice played into the early church.

Here’s how it responded:

Up to about 200 AD, the early fathers did not treat justice mainly as an abstract legal principle or a later courtroom theory of salvation. They usually spoke of it as the way God makes things right: truthfulness, mercy, judgment, generosity, and restored human life that flow from God’s own character and are embodied in Christ.

Then it called out six specific ways that justice impacted their perceptions. Here is my summary below.

  1. To the earliest Christians, justice was not a side issue. It was one of the visible signs that someone had entered Jesus’s way of life. They saw justification as the process by which God makes people just from the inside, not a works-oriented approach to personal righteousness. That is why the Didache begins the Christian life with “two ways”: the way of life and the way of death. The way of life is love of God, love of neighbor, nonviolence, truthful speech, sexual faithfulness, economic integrity, and care for the vulnerable. Its justice is practical and relational: do not murder, steal, covet, exploit, bear false witness, or speak deceitfully. Almsgiving is also treated as morally serious, both for the giver and the receiver.
  2. Thus, salvation meant being rescued into a just and loving way of life. The fathers did not usually separate salvation from transformation. To be saved was not merely to be acquitted; it was to be healed, reordered, and made capable of living in God’s life. That is a very early view of Christian salvation: Christ saves by drawing people into the love of God, and that love expresses itself as a community free of rivalry, factionalism, arrogance, and self-seeking. Justice is what love looks like when it flows into relationships.
  3. Justice was not opposed to mercy; it was mercy’s public shape. The early fathers do not set up a hard contrast between God’s justice and God’s mercy, as if mercy softens justice or justice restrains mercy. God’s justice is often restorative because God’s purpose is to save, heal, and renew. Justice is not merely punishment for wrongdoers. It includes the restoration of truthful speech, generous economics, reconciliation, and purity of heart. The just life is the healed life.
  4. The early fathers believed God judges the world and that human choices matter. Salvation is a gift, but not a trivial one. To receive Christ is to be drawn by love into a new way of living. The fathers warned against presuming one being “called” while continuing to treat others unjustly.
  5. Christ’s work was understood as right-making, not merely penalty-bearing. The early writers often describe salvation through Christ as sanctification, forgiveness, liberation, healing, recapitulation, and participation in divine life. God’s justice is not simply that sin receives a penalty. It is that creation is not abandoned, the body is not discarded, the victims’ blood is not forgotten, and humanity is recovered in Christ.
  6. Living justly is the fruit of a life that love is transforming. It is how we participate in God’s own character. That is perhaps the richest early formulation: God’s justice is not merely retributive. It is medicinal, pedagogical, and restorative. It makes things right by bringing persons and creation toward their intended end.

It’s conclusion:

For the early fathers before 200 AD, justice was not a separate doctrine alongside salvation. So, if we translate their instinct into a single sentence:

Justice is what God’s love does when it confronts evil, heals the damaged,
restores right relationship, and forms a people who embody the life of the coming kingdom.

They would likely have found it strange to separate “being saved” from “being made just.” Salvation was not merely a change in legal status before God; it was the beginning of God’s justice being written into human beings, communities, and ultimately creation itself.

I then asked ChatGPT what Christianity lost when it substituted a preoccupation with righteousness for learning to live in the rich bounty of his love. The answer was as breathtaking as it was shocking.  I’ll share that in my next blog.

Of course, none of this would be good news if we think of justice as something we have to achieve by self-effort.

In the context of the new covenant, justice is the gift love writes on our hearts. In Just Love, Tobie and I describe how justice flows out of our lives naturally when love fills us with God’s presence, untwists injustice inside our own hearts, and makes us as aware of others as we are of ourselves.

In that reality, embracing God’s heart for justice becomes the joyful passion of a lifetime and the ultimate hope of the universe as Jesus returns and God’s justice is spread over all of creation.

Is it ever time for that! 

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I Love How God Works

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In October 2024, a man named Tobie van der Westhuizen wrote to ask if I would explore some research he had been pursuing for eight years. It centered on the Greek word our English Bibles usually translate as “righteousness.”

I immediately recognized how closely his discoveries aligned with what God’s love had been teaching me for the previous thirty years. Many Zoom conversations followed. Eventually, we began writing together, and a year later, that collaboration became Just Love: How One Mistranslated Word Distorted the Gospel.

Last weekend, Tobie and I finally met face to face. We shared our first meal and then spent three days with forty people who had traveled from across the country to join our conversation.

There is no better test of whether two lives fit together as well as their words than sharing a room, a conversation, and all the little decisions that fill a weekend. I was not disappointed.

Tobie and I fit together like two living stones God had been shaping for decades on opposite sides of the world. We could share the conversation without competing for it, lay aside our own agendas, and make room for whatever God might be doing among us. I came away treasuring Tobie and his wife, Rev, not merely as collaborators, but as dear friends.

Tobie and I also recorded a podcast reflecting on the weekend, which will be released this Friday.

Something similar happened among the forty people who joined us. We began as strangers, representing many backgrounds and almost every Christian tradition. Yet from the beginning, people engaged the ideas in Just Love not merely as theology, but vulnerably, asking how God’s love might transform the struggles and relationships of their own lives.

Before long, strangers became friends. Meals stretched into rich conversations. People listened generously, shared honestly, and made room for one another.

I saw again how Jesus is shaping his bride—not through human contrivance or institutional machinery, but by his Spirit forming people in love and fitting them together as living stones. I love that so much.

Those who have read Just Love know this conversation is about far more than correcting a mistranslated word. It opens a larger understanding of the gospel, God’s purpose in creation, and how we participate with him in making all things new.

Translating the biblical word as “justice” shifts the center of gravity from our becoming morally pure to God making all things right. Moral transformation matters, but it is only part of a much greater story.

The gospel announces that, in Jesus Christ, God’s justice has entered the world—not merely to punish evil, but to forgive sin, heal the human heart, restore relationships, gather a new humanity, and make creation whole.

And where does that begin?

It begins by each of us relaxing into his love, becoming aware of his presence, and learning to live from the fullness he gives. As his love becomes real within us, we no longer need to exploit others to meet our needs or chase the world’s trinkets to fill up what we lack inside. We become free to live generously, distributing life rather than taking it.

The just life is a life full of love.

Many of us have been intimidated by a God whose “righteousness” was presented primarily as moral perfection. But when we understand his justice as the determination to make all things right, his holiness becomes not only awesome, but deeply beautiful. God will not abandon the abused. He will not ignore evil. He will not allow lies to define reality or death to have the final word. He will not leave sinners trapped in deception, nor will he discard the creation he loves.

He will make right what love created good.

That is no less holy. It is holiness as transforming power, flowing freely through love.

Many who attended asked whether we might do more gatherings like this. With Tobie living in South Africa and leading a school, such weekends are not easy to arrange. We will have to see where God might lead.

I do know that this conversation—moving from a preoccupation with personal righteousness into a life shaped by love—is important for all of us. I pray you have people with whom you can explore it honestly and live it together. I’ll have more on that in a future blog.

Let me add a personal note. Several people seemed surprised that I looked so “healthy.” Knowing that I am living with multiple myeloma and receiving chemotherapy to keep it in remission, some apparently expected me to look depleted or battle-weary.

The truth is that, if you saw me today, you would have no idea that cancer lurks within. I feel as strong as I did before my diagnosis and surgery, thanks to God’s mercy, an extraordinary medical team, and the medications that continue to hold it in check. I remain deeply grateful that none of this has diminished my ability to live, love, write, travel, and participate in weekends like this one.

The photograph below includes about half of those who joined us—the ones still present when we remembered to take a photo late Saturday. It brings back treasured memories of a weekend well spent, among living stones being shaped together by love. I am grateful to all of you and blessed that you took the time to join us.

 

 

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JUST LOVE Opens Doors

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Tobie and I will meet for the first time in person, July 9-12, in Kansas City for the Just Love Conversations. We’ve got a wonderful group of people gathering to discuss the content and implications of Just Love: How One Mistranslated Word Distorted the Gospel, a book we coauthored together.  Unfortunately, we have maxed out our facility there, so we cannot take any more reservations. We are adding people to our waitlist, however, in case we have last-minute cancellations.

A friend sent me the above photo as a reminder to keep us in prayer during this time. It is obviously a product of AI, but it warms my heart nonetheless with the reality that we’ll soon be together.

We are receiving quite a few opportunities to explore Just Love on various podcasts. Here are two of the latest:

Last week, I was a guest on the MercyCast podcast with Raleigh Sadler. Here’s what he said about our conversation: “This conversation challenged me personally. We discussed the difference between living for love and living from love, how God often takes the initiative long before we recognize it, and why genuine compassion grows out of being deeply loved ourselves.”

 

Also, I was a guest on A Work in Progress: Growing up Human, a podcast co-hosted by two friends of mine, Dan and Bud, who have a long history of helping people through their struggles. They wanted to know more about Just Love and why I got involved with this book. I enjoy these opportunities to share the story when I’m not in control of the microphones.  You can listen to it here.

 

 

A Wide Open Door in Kenya

Who knows, but that Tobie and I wrote Just Love for the continent of Africa? While there is some resistance to its message here, in Kenya, it is dramatically changing lives. Over the last month, I have shared the book with them and have been coaching them on the implications of Just Love on salvation, transformation, and justification.  The response has been amazing. 

Here’s an email I received from Michael on Monday:

The message of Just Love is reaching not only church leaders and communities but also the education sector. Through it, we are seeing transformation and conviction by the Holy Spirit. Over the years we have shared books such as The Naked Church, Authentic Relationships, and So You Don’t Want to Go to Church Anymore. However, I believe He Loves Me and Just Love have come at the right time for this generation in Africa.

It is going to help many people to value one another, forgive one another, and embrace others with love and equality. Even though there are many books about love, Just Love has opened a special door for transformation.

We have received many calls from people whose hearts have been deeply touched by its message. If there is anything I would invest in today, it would be helping Just Love reach more people in Kenya, Congo, Tanzania, South Sudan, and Burundi. In many places where hatred and division have caused suffering, this message can help restore broken relationships and bring healing. Brother Wayne, from my heart, I believe Just Love is a world changing message. It is not simply a book to read but a journey of transformation as God teaches us to love, value one another, and restore broken relationships.

We are also grateful that a new door has opened for us. In August, we have been invited to share at Mount Kenya University, and we hope to connect you with students who are embracing this message of Just Love, we have already seen significant impact. Many groups are requesting opportunities to hear more and obtain copies. We trust that God will provide according to His will and timing.

Last week, Michael was contacted by one of the senior leaders in the Department of Education and Technical and Vocational and Training. He had received a copy of Just Love with the intention of reading it and returning it. However, after reading the book, he was deeply touched by its message and invited us to his home yesterday to discuss its impact.

He shared that the book carries a message that is greatly needed in Kenya today and expressed his desire to help open doors for it to be shared in colleges, universities, and vocational training institutions across the country. He also suggested that it should reach senior secondary schools because of the challenges many schools are facing. Kenya is experiencing a crisis. Last year, many schools were burned, resulting in the loss of students’ lives. Sadly, similar incidents have continued this year, including the loss of 17 students last month.

He also observed that many young people are not learning enough about the love of God. Instead, many struggle with hatred, rejection, discrimination, and broken relationships. In addition, the word “love” is often misunderstood and associated only with sexual relationships rather than God’s true love. This book would help students reflect on the teachings, answer discussion questions, and deepen their understanding through Christian Religious Education classes and through our trained coaches. He especially appreciated the book’s message that the Gospel is more than forgiveness of sins; it is about transformed lives and restored relationships. He highlighted themes such as:

1.   Christianity is about relationships, not merely rules.
2.   Religious arguments often miss God’s heart.
3.   Jesus invites us into a deeper relationship with Him.
4.   God’s Kingdom operates through love and righteousness.
5.   Loving others includes treating them with justice and fairness.
6.  Grace replaces striving for acceptance.
7.  God’s love confronts injustice and transforms society.

By God’s grace, the books He Loves Me and Just Love have already been received and reviewed positively, even without our direct involvement. The feedback has been excellent, and the senior TVET leader believes these books provide sound biblical teaching that can benefit Kenya, Africa, and the world.

For this reason, they have encouraged us to register a mobile training centre in Kenya under the TVET Department and the Ministry of Education. Such registration would allow us to conduct workshops and training programs in schools, colleges, churches, and communities across the country. We thank you sincerely for your faithfulness and for allowing God to use you through these books.  We also ask for your prayers and support as we explore the possibility of registering this training ministry and developing study questions to accompany the books for discussion and self-evaluation. We wanted to share this wonderful testimony with you and also present these suggestions for your consideration. May the Lord continue to bless you abundantly and expand the impact of this ministry around the world.

This leader wrote to me yesterday:

As I reflected on Just Love, I was reminded of the lessons that “Christianity is about relationship, not just rules,” that “God wants us to experience His life now,” and that “God’s Kingdom operates through love.” These truths continue to encourage us as we seek to share God’s love with others. As a team working within the Education Department in Kenya, we are doing our level best to reach the generation we call Gen Z, who are in universities, colleges, and high schools. Many young people today are quick to respond to conflict with anger, revenge, and violence. After going through Just Love, I am convinced that this message is a God-given assignment for this generation.

The lessons that “God’s love changes hearts,” that “love motivates lasting transformation,” and that “fear is not the foundation of spiritual growth” speak directly to the challenges our young people face. We have also been encouraged by the teaching that “God’s plan is to restore broken relationships” and that “loving others includes treating them fairly.”

The discussion about your book is continuing among our Education Department colleagues. As we share its message, more and more people are embracing the desire to obtain a copy. My wife, who is a high school teacher in Mombasa, recently came home during the half-term break and also read the book. She strongly recommends that it be translated into Kiswahili, our national language, so that more people can benefit from its message.

We are holding all of these things in our hearts as we see how this unfolds. They would like us to print thousands of copies there to be distributed among education and religious leaders throughout Kenya. The cost would be about $12,000.00. Please pray with us about this possibility as we work through the options here. And, if you’d like to help print books in Africa, please let me know. It just might light a fire in that corner of the world.

 

 

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My Disturbing Relationship with Righteousness

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You can’t grow up in Christianity without thinking that righteousness is a big deal to God. The Scriptures were full of it. Our faith was structured around it. And dealing with our sin became a daily preoccupation—trying to avoid it when we could, confessing it when we failed, and promising God we would never do it again.

At best, that promise lasted a few days.

It was exhausting and confusing. Even on our best day, we knew we could never be righteous enough to earn anything from God—not in our thoughts, our deeds, or even our reactions to circumstances and people. So, we learned to minimize our failures, justify our motives, or compare ourselves to others whose sins seemed worse than ours.

Perhaps that’s why our ancestors found such comfort in the idea of imputed righteousness. If I believe in Jesus, God declares me righteous. That became justification by faith. I could be righteous in God’s eyes and finally free of guilt.

Really? If so, that’s the best deal in the universe.

But even as a child, something about that didn’t sit right with me. It felt too much like a theological mind game. Even though I still gave in to desires and thoughts that were not aligned with God’s heart, I was told I could still think of myself as righteous. At the same time, I was urged to “be holy as he is holy,” which we called sanctification. In our scheme of things, holiness was preferable, but not essential if the real goal was only to get into heaven.

Still, I pursued righteousness. After all, didn’t Jesus tell us to seek it first in Matthew 6:33? Though it didn’t seem to affect my salvation, I assumed it was the doorway to deeper engagement with Father, Son, and Spirit—or at least a way to make God more inclined to answer my prayers.

So I tried to be as holy as I could and kept careful account of my shortcomings. But my sins didn’t lose much power over me. Fear helped for a while. So did accountability sometimes, though often it only made me better at hiding what was really going on or justifying myself so my failures could look noble to others. When that doesn’t improve over time, you eventually stop trying so hard and settle for keeping your failures to the least embarrassing kinds.

That’s why I have so loved Tobie van der Westhuizen’s assertion that righteousness, as we have come to understand it today, isn’t actually in the Bible. That discovery has liberated me from the last vestiges of my preoccupation with righteousness and sin.

I know that scares people. They fear that if we don’t keep a constant eye on our sin, it will overrun us. But I’ve found the opposite to be true. The more we focus on the flesh, the more it owns us. The freer we are to focus on the Spirit, the more we experience his life. Cultivating a passion for God’s justice inside his love is what begins to free us from the flesh’s preoccupation with ourselves.

For some, this feels like taking away a security blanket. But why isn’t Jesus’s atoning death, his love, and his forgiveness enough to settle our guilt and shame? Why isn’t his presence sufficient to assure us that we are safe with him? Our confidence was never meant to rest in a theological decree, but in the experience of his presence living in us.

I’ve heard some complain that Just Love simply changes the requirement for salvation from righteousness to justice. That’s not what we’re saying at all. Salvation and acceptance by God come by his grace alone. Acting justly is not a new requirement; it is the fruit of a life lived loved. The more we engage his love, the more his justice is produced in our hearts and reflected in our actions. It is neither the origin of our salvation nor the proof of it.

Freed from our obsession with righteousness and sin, we can finally learn the way of love unimpeded by a preoccupation with the flesh. And that is a slow, beautiful transformation over time.

This is the heart and soul behind Just Love. It’s why Jesus and Paul both said that love fulfills the law. Instead of our deficiencies dragging us into condemnation and renewed efforts to try harder, they simply unmask our need for his love. The path to his justice runs through his affection, not our performance.

His love makes us safe in his presence. As that presence begins to fill us from the inside, the lies of darkness lose their grip. The need to find life outside of him slowly dissipates. And as his fullness grows in us, we begin to see the people around us differently, regarding them with the same tenderness and care we have discovered in him.

This is the relational justice Jesus invited us into, and the place where his transformation becomes real in us. Godliness doesn’t come from trying to be righteous, but in experiencing the depths of his love.

And it’s the part of the Gospel we don’t want to miss.

____________________

Tobie and I will be in Kansas City next month (July 9-12) to host the Just Love Conversations, three days of conversation, connection, and discovery around the themes of this book. There’s no cost to attend, though donations are welcome to help cover expenses. If you’re coming from out-of-town, reservations must be made by June 16 to qualify for our reduced group rate. Click on this link for all the details. We only have a few spots remaining. To reserve your place, email wa****@********am.org with the names of those coming. If we run out of room, we’ll start a waitlist in case others have to cancel.

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The JUST LOVE Conversations

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The glory of the Gospel is not just God’s love in us, as miraculous as that is, but God’s love and life through us, transforming our lives and flowing into the world.

The content of Wayne and Tobie’s new book, Just Love, invites us to rethink how the Gospel is often portrayed.

  • What if we had been focused on his love writing justice on our hearts, rather than a preoccupation with our sin and personal piety?
  • What would the church of Jesus look like if his love had always been at its center?
  • What would it change about our understanding of salvation, justification, transformation, and the nature of his kingdom taking expression in the world?
  • And, most of all, how can you experience more of his love and life in our own God Journey?

No wonder the Gospel seems so weak in our day; it has been emptied of its power. We jump through some religious hoops, claiming our salvation, without ever having touched the rich treasure of God’s love for us.

My coauthor, Tobie, and his wife are coming to Kansas City to visit family in July. We are planning a meet-up in Overland Park, July 9-12, this summer.  I would like to introduce them to you, and we want to unpack the themes of this book that will help you discover the richness of his love, as well as have a whole new way to understand the story of Scripture.

We concluded the book by saying that these realities are better explored than explained, and that’s exactly what we want to do in three transforming days in Kansas City. Tobie and I will facilitate a series of conversations to explore how God’s love and life flow into us, and then out from us to fill the earth with his glory.

You’re invited to join us for the Just Love Conversations

July 9-12 
We will gather at the Westbrooke Church
9777 Antioch Rd, Overland Park, KS 66212

Our Schedule:

      • Thursday, July 9:  7 pm – 9 am
      • Friday & Saturday, July 10-11:  9:30 am – 4:00 pm
      • Sunday, July 12:   9 am – 12 noon

Evenings will be free to explore Kansas City, rest, or connect with others for meals and fellowship.

Though we have plenty of room now, space is limited. We will register people on a first-come, first-served basis. When it fills up, we’ll start a waiting list in case of cancellations. If you’d like to register or need further information, email wa****@********am.org, listing the names of each person you are registering. There is no cost for the JUST LOVE Conversations, though people can donate to Lifestream Ministries to help defray the costs if they would like to help us. We will let you know when the need is covered, and send any overage to our Kenya Fund.

People from out of the area are welcome to fly or drive in to be with us. We’re trying to make arrangements for a special group rate with a hotel in Overland Park, near our meeting place. I can send you that information if you’re interested.  Unfortunately, we are competing with a FIFA World Cup game in KC that weekend. The more we have, the better rate we can get. We have arrangements now for a group rate, but you need to register at the hotel by June 17 to qualify.

So to sign up, all you need to do is email me, listing the names of the people you’re registering, and if you want more information on our host hotel.  That’s it!  

Give it some thought and come join us if God lays it on your heart. I’d be excited to see you there.

____________________

And one more thing:

We are hoping to raise $18,000 to help an orphanage in Kenya purchase a tractor. They host 380 children in an orphanage and school, and we discovered that they ran out of food last week. We immediately sent them $1700.00 to bridge the immediate need. They told me their real need is a tractor. They used to have one to help farm the land and hire it out to raise money for the children, but they had to sell it during COVID to meet new government regulations in their facility. They hope to restart the farming enterprise as a means to care for these children. We’re going to try to pool some money to help them do it.

If you want to help, please visit our Donation Page at Lifestream. Check the box for “Kenya Relief”. You can also Venmo contributions to “@LifestreamMinistries” or mail a check to Lifestream Ministries  • 107 N. Reino Rd, PMB# 411 • Newbury Park, CA 91320-3710. Or, if you prefer, we can take your donation over the phone at (805) 990-8780.

As always, every dime you send will end up in Kenya. We do not take out any money for our administrative costs.

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Spreading JUST LOVE into the World

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A couple of weeks ago, I was interviewed on Great Day Colorado, a morning show on a local Denver Station. I shared that here earlier, but at the time, I mentioned I was also interviewed for a longer conversation about Just Love. That interview dropped last week, and you can hear it here.

Both Tobie and I are available for podcast or blog interviews on the revolutionary message of Just Love. If you are interested or know others who might be, please let me know, and we would be happy to schedule something.

Also, I mentioned earlier that we are trying to plan a gathering this summer to help people explore and embody the reality of Just Love. Its message is quite a shift from traditional evangelical thought, where salvation is all about destiny and often skips how our engagement with the love of Jesus writes his justice on our hearts so that we demonstrate his kingdom by the way we love others deeply and treat them fairly.

We plan to hold it in Kansas City, July 9-12 (Thursday – Sunday). We haven’t worked out costs and arrangements yet, but we will get that information out as soon as we have it. We will keep the costs minimal to open the door as wide as possible to anyone who wants to come. So, if you would like to spend a few days with Tobie and me, where we’ll have the opportunity to deepen our own connection with the flow of God’s love, as it flows into us, renews our mind in his love, and then flows out of us as a different way to be in the world, please let us know.

I have said that Just Love is the perfect sequel to He Loves Me, published 25 years earlier. It is two sides of the same coin. The first helps us discover how much God loves us so we can engage him without fear and watch how living loved reshapes our lives. Just Love is how that love cannot stay contained inside of us, but begins to flow through us in surprising ways that give evidence of his kingdom in the world. Just Love is the fruit and fulfillment of the glorious adventure that He Loves Me begins.

I thought I’d see if that is recognizable to others, so I asked ChatGPT how Just Love fits into my literary Journey, starting with The Naked Church in 1987 and finishing with Just Love in 2026.  I was pleasantly surprised at what I heard back.

Bringing decades of reflection into sharper theological focus, Just Love: How One Mistranslated Word Distorted the Gospel (2026 with Tobie van der Westhuizen), names more explicitly what has long been implicit in Jacobsen’s writing. What had previously been explored relationally and experientially is here named at the level of language and meaning. He and Tobie revisit the concept of righteousness and reframes it through its biblical roots in justice—God’s work of setting things right in relationships. Rather than introducing a new direction, this book names with greater clarity what has been implicit throughout his earlier writing: that the gospel is not about meeting a standard, but about participating in God’s restorative love. In this sense, Just Love serves as both a culmination and a clarification of the journey that began decades earlier.

Taken together, Wayne’s body of work reveals a clear and unified progression. He begins by questioning institutional expressions of faith, then reframes the character of God as deeply loving and trustworthy. From there, he explores how that vision reshapes community, centers on the person of Jesus, and ultimately redefines the gospel itself as God’s work of restoration.

At every stage, one theme remains central: the Christian life is not about striving to become acceptable to God, but about awakening to a love that has always been present—and learning to live from that reality.

It actually connected all of my books to that trajectory. I’ll share the whole thing in a future blog post, because it helped me see the unintentional plot that runs through all of my books, when I thought of them at the time as individual projects. If what’s written above is true, I am most blessed. All I’ve wanted is to help people explore in their own journey the love God has for them, but in setting them at rest from striving and to lead them on the transformative adventure of freedom from shame and obligation to share that love with others.

Just Love:
How One Mistranslated Word Distorted the Gospel
by Wayne Jacobsen and Tobie van der Westhuizen
174 pages
Trailview Media
Available in paperback from Lifestream for $13.99. And, if you want to order five or more, you can purchase them for $10.00 each.
Or get it from Amazon: in Kindle ($10.99),  paperback ($16.99), or hardcover ($24.99)

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