From when I was a small child to this very moment, following God and helping those in need has been my calling. Empathy for those hurting and wanting to do something has guided me. Unfortunately, guilt guided my thinking and convinced me that if I didn’t do something to help, I was a bad person and I just didn’t care about people.
God, of course, showed me differently. He revealed to me that showing love can only be done through Him and that making a lasting difference was impossible on my own. Before, what did I do with that guilt? I answered it with “You’re not good enough. You’ll never be enough.” This was an obvious clue that I didn’t truly love myself.
Until one day, God showed me His true love. He lovingly told me that I could not know true love until I knew Him as love.
To Him, love does not look like something you’re guilted into. He doesn’t pressure you or tell you “I won’t love you if you don’t do this…” He calls us each to follow Him in all His ways; but in order to do that we need to love who He is first and have a personal relationship with Him.
[Jesus replied: “?‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Matthew 22:37 & 38 NIV)]
Now, I see that God has loved me, forgiven me, taken care of me, and shown me so much, that it has become impossible to not show this love to others. What a huge blessing to be able to look at people in the eye and say “it is completely because of my Lord that I am loved.” How can I keep that love to myself? Whether God has called me to be a friend, a smiling face, give a kind word, be a listener, a volunteer, or whomever God is calling me to be that day, I want to be the one He asks.
[Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8 NIV)]
After all I have been blessed with, I want nothing more than to share these blessings and to love on people in what capacity they need me. And this is why I’m going into the mission field.
