Yesterday as I shoveled my dirt, and wheelbarrow it off to dump, I was being followed by our little bundle of energy and endless questions (Carson Kimbro, son of the house parents, Mike and Karen Kimbro. Here’s a little snip-bit of our conversation:
Carson: Why you have to get this work done?
Me: So that the kidos can move in an have a home.
Carson: And so you get paid?
Me: No, actually we don’t get paid for this.
Carson: Why you work for no money?
Me: Because we love Jesus and want to see kids have a home to grow up in and be loved.
Carson’s short attention span was spent at this point and he ran off 🙂 But His simple questions got me thinking as I trudged back and forth with my wheelbarrow. I started asking myself those questions again and again. Why am I here to work? Why am I working for nothing?
And my answer to myself was, again, because I love Jesus. And my love for Jesus is not just verbal or tucked away deep down inside of me where no one else can see. I want my love for Jesus to be displayed for any and all to see. Just like Jesus’ love for me was not only verbal, Jesus displayed his love for all to see when he hung on the cross and bore the weight of the sin of the world on his back. Jesus’ love for me was the ultimate love of laying his life down for mine!
“John 15:12-13 This is my commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man that this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
As a team, we all came up with words that would define what we want to see exemplified this month. My word was love. There were three verses I was thinking of when I decided that love would be what I wanted to see myself and my team live out this month.
“Colossians 3:12-14 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, tender mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.”
“1Thessalonians 3:12-13 And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men.”
“2Thessalonians 1:7-9 …When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power.”
Living in close community (as we do here on the WR) there are plenty of opportunities to get ones toes stepped on and feel annoyances rise towards one another. The reminder to be merciful, kind, longsuffering, forbearing, and forgiving is needed quite often. Love is all of those things, always thinking of others and their needs above ones own.
Then the passage in 1Thess is, again, a call to love, and not only love my friends and fellow christian believers, but to love everybody!! When we add the “unloving” sounding passage in 2Thess to the mix I am greatly reminded of the need to love people and tell them about Jesus!! Yeah, you were probably wondering how the verse “in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God” had anything to do with loving people this month. It’s all about love taking action. You realize a need and you do something about it because you love the person or peoples in need! If I know someone’s future involves flaming fire and vengeance, then I’m going to do the only loving thing to do in that situation: Offer them a escape from the flames… salvation through the love of Jesus!!! The amazing truth that Jesus took their wrath and is offering them LIFE and peace if they will believe!
Back to my conversation with Carson. I am not here in Peru just digging in the dirt, I am loving hundreds and thousands of children and possibly generations that will be blessed because they were taken off the streets, or out of the dumps, and given a better way of life on this earth, and a GREAT hope of eternal life through Jesus Christ! I’m hoping for a dominos effect. As love is shown to one poor child I pray that the process will continue as he grows and goes on to raise his own children some day! What we are starting here does not end when we leave, or when the first child graduates from needing care, or when the beds are filled and the children’s bellies are full. The Work of the Lord continues on in individual lives and will increase and abound as those lives touch other lives and so and and so forth. I’m so excited to be a part of what God’s doing!
Hey and don’t you go and feel left out! Gods got great stuff going on in Peru, and in Souderton, or where ever you find yourself today!
Love takes action that is visible to others. Go out in LOVE!
