1 John 4:16 tells us that, “GOD is LOVE– whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: in this world, we are like Jesus.”
I met Jesus this past month in Nicaragua… over, and over, and over again.
Sarahi. Bismarck. Tia Francis. Isaac. Ammi. Nolan. Anderson. Yerson. Flor. Heling. Jesus. Jose. Maekaling. Juiman. Cesar. Jeferson. Ema. Edwin. Francis. Miriam. Dariana. Alejandro. Evelia. Alejandra. Yoseling. Deborah. Kelly. Carlos. Gewer. Norma. Grethell. Sergio. Anderson. MacDonald.
And so many more of the wonderful church family I spent the month with in Ocotal, Nicaragua. Not to mention how I met Jesus every single day in the smiles, hugs, laughter, encouragement, tough advice, and sincere love of my teammates – Laura, Karli, Isa, Abbey, Crystal and Jen.
Every day these incredible people have shown me what it is to be the living, breathing and active LOVE of GOD here on this earth. They have taught me that the proof of His love –His tangible presence that brings joy, strength, comfort, compassion and discipline—is right in front of me each and every day. His CREATION which was made in His perfect and holy image is HERE with me! His love lives in them and pursues me relentlessly through the relationships that I have been able to make with them.
What if we truly believed, like 1 John 4:16 says, that we are like Jesus in this world? That we are the face of His love and that His love is made complete among us as we daily choose to live IN love?
We are made in His image – which means that if God is love… if He is compassionate, strong, overflowing with joy, patience, goodness, kindness, self-control, peace, and gentleness… if He is faithful, forgiving, worthy of trust, holy, and just… then we, who are made in His image, are ALSO all of these things. This is our identity! This is who we are. Our flesh may try to tell us otherwise, and the enemy may get in our heads and tell us lies… but the Word of God is the ONLY truth upon which we can stand with confidence and assurance, and it is ONLY the Word of God that has the authority to give us our identity and tell us who we are.
And His Word tells us that God is love… and so WE are also LOVE!
My new challenge to myself and to all of you reading this is to live as one who is deeply loved, and as one who is called to love like Jesus has loved us. Put yourself aside, put down your phone, turn off your computer, leave work at work, and be intentional about pursuing and loving those who are right in front of you. You were made in the image of God Himself, and you were made to love and be loved!
