“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them” (1 John 4:16).
God is love. And His love flows through us empowering us to love people unconditionally. That should be so easy, right?
If you asked me right now how I am feeling about this past week in Paris, you might get a “great” or “okay” from me. And if you pressed further, you might squeeze out a full sentence about some of the people we have met. Long, elaborate emotional responses are tough for me to word right now. I’d like to say that I can adequately explain what’s going on, but honestly, my thoughts are everywhere.
Imagine watching a washing machine. While you’re watching, try to pick one piece of clothing and continue watching that item spin for as long as you can. You might be able to follow that piece of clothing for awhile but eventually it mixes together with everything else. The clothes are my thoughts. And this it not because so much is happening that I can’t process. It’s because what is happening is that God is taking my heart and showing me who he is and what he wants me to see. He is inviting me — and you — to venture deeper into relationship with him. To experience what his heart experiences. To love as deep as he loves.
Paris sounds like a great place to start an 11 month trip. Comfortable, easy, little stress. Ha… that’s what I thought.
I have been to Paris about seven times. I’ve stayed in fancy hotels, ate gelato everyday, explored the many art museums, the Eiffel tower, the Louvre and Arc De Triomphe. I was able to speak English to everyone I came into contact with.
Needless to say, I thought I was ready for this. I had no worries about how things would go. In fact, there was even a small part of me that said I was better equipped than a lot of my team. I was a world traveler and have experienced hard things. This was going to be a cake walk.
Well, I was wrong.
It’s the sixth day since being here in Paris and my heart aches for justice, healing, anything to put the oppression that grips the people here, to peace. You see, God has a great sense of humor. He waits for you to find that comfort level. A level in which you rely on yourself and have it all together. And then he takes that and puts you into a place that, as a human, you want to get out of right away.
It’s like lying down on an extra soft bed, the kind you gently sink into, then sleeping in it for a week. Your body gets used to that soft squish and comfort and during the day you look forward to bed. And then one night you go to lay down and find that someone has put quills into your bed. Obviously, that’s something you’re going to get up for and try to remove. However, you can’t remove them. They’re stuck and you must adapt to your new bed. It’s pretty painful now.
This is what God has done this last week. My comfort was high and my pain at a low. All at once, God threw my heart into the people of France and I’m wrecked. For the last three days we got to walk among the refugees that have fled Sudan, Syria, Somalia, and other countries. At first I was apprehensive and not sure what to say or how to approach these people. I was scared to hear their stories of pain. To feel what they felt. To see the physical pain and suffering. Something that I have tried so hard to keep closed. I don’t want to feel their pain. It’s not mine and I should not have to feel this!
“Whoever lives in love lives in God…”
And so God took my heart and shattered it like a glass ball onto marble. God wants me and you to experience a level of empathy neither of us have ever felt. And with that comes the pain and discomfort of feeling what others are going through.
Love is powerful and can drive people to step outside their comfort zones. To do things they would never dream about doing. True, authentic, deep love comes from God and through that flows life. With the deep love of God powerful things happen. And being presented with the opportunity to love refugees like Jesus loved people provides a unique experience to see the Holy Spirit move in ways that seem impossible.
So here I am. In a position to show deep love for someone I don’t even know. To care for someone as though they are my own family. To find courage to love like Jesus. Because in the end, Jesus gave his life for love’s sake. He gave his life for the love of people, to see them saved from death. And if that’s what love is, a sacrifice of comfort, a sacrifice of my life, then I have to say I’m all in. Because I can no longer walk through the streets and not look into someone’s eyes and not feel the love of Christ pursuing their heart. I can no longer be complacent and apathetic towards hurting people.
I challenge you that from now on every time you talk with someone, every time you look at someone, that you allow yourself to be present and in that person’s world. To exercise extreme empathy for them. To love them unconditionally. To love like Jesus.
