This month my team decided to focus on what it means to
really love. Our team name is Crash of
Love, and we often talk about how “love is what is going to do anything” and
“all we need to do is love people,” but none of us have really looked at what
it means to love. So we took 1
Corinthians 13 and a couple other verses and decided to spend 2 days on 15
definitions of love.
Objective 1. Love is Patient.
“You
have the watch, Africans have the time.”
We were told that phrase when we arrived in Africa and it has proven
true. Hurry up and wait is also the
case, so patience is a vital part of ministry here. Your ride might be late, though you were
ready an hour ago. People don’t show up
to events until well after the start time.
They do things on their time, so much so that I’ve all but given up on
wearing my watch. Patience has become a
virtue, but it also puts everyone in a much less foul mood.
Objective 2. Love is Kind.
Living
in community is something that is very much so a recent development for
me. Sure I went to college, lived in the
dorm, but I could always escape to my personal room. Not so on the World Race. I had my own room at a hostel in the
beginning of the month for 2 nights…it was the first time in over 7 months that
I had my OWN ROOM! Being kind is
sometimes difficult. Buying your teammate popcorn or chocolate when you go to
the store, just to be nice, saying a nice word of encouragement, being
considerate of other’s desires…it’s not easy…but I don’t know a single person
who would oppose to those actions.
Again, spirits just seem to be higher when you really act kindly to
other people.
Objective 3. Love does not Envy.
“3
people accepted Jesus today when we went out.” “Today we healed someone of
alchoholism.” It’s easy to get into what we call the ‘spirit of comparison’ on
the Race. You see other teams and squads
doing what you consider more. They pray more, read more, discuss more, heal
more, more more more. But the truth is,
it’s not about what other people are doing.
It’s about YOUR relationship with Christ. So we catch ourselves comparing experiences,
comparing how people do things differently, and we stop, and focus back on what
we ARE doing for the Kingdom. That’s how
we bring Love.
Objective 4. Love does not Boast.
I see boasting as
arrogance. Showing off, singing your own
praises, etc. The way that looks on the
Race is not constantly talking about what you did. “You may not have seen it, but today I
volunteered to do dishes, after I played with kids ALL day, preached, AND
cooked dinner.” Sometimes it’s hard to
do things and not have them noticed, but if you’re doing them just to be
noticed, you’re not really doing them with a right heart in the first place. God see’s everything we do, big and small,
and that’s all that should matter! So in
love, we do not mention how much we’ve done-but rather we boast on what we’ve
seen other people do.
Objective 5. Love is
not Proud.
While
boasting is outward, pride is inward.
Many verses in scripture focus on pride and humility, yet pride is still
a thing that Christians struggle with on a daily basis. One way we can focus on less pride is
focusing more on being a servant. To not
focus on being first, but being last. To
put other’s first can really help with pride. I love the parable of the Wedding
Feast, where Jesus tells people to not take the seats of honor at a feast, as
someone more important may arrive and you will be humbled. However, if you sit in a lowly spot, your
host may see you and raise you up to a seat of honor. That’s the way we should approach loving
without pride-taking the least and knowing that God will raise you up.
Objective 6. Love is not easily
angered.
I don’t
know if you’ve ever spent 8 months in close proximity to the same group of 6
people. I would venture to guess that’s
a no. There are times, believe it or
not, where you just don’t want to be
around them. You don’t want to talk to
them, play games with them, have deep intellectual talks, or listen to the same
stories you’ve heard over and over. As I
focused on the objective to not be easily angered, I realized how easy it is to
become angered, usually by the most mundane, stupid things. But love is overlooking those. Love is controlling your emotions instead of
letting them control you.
Objective 7. Love is not Self
seeking.
Duh. This one should be first, and then Paul
wouldn’t have even had to finish the passage in 1 Corinthians 13. All of what love is falls under not being
self seeking. Not being selfish. Putting
others ahead of yourself. Do unto others
as you would have them do to you (conveniently I’ve begun to use this when
children hit or kick me…avoiding child abuse…but you know what I mean). This is so obvious, yet (especially as
Americans) we’re raised to be selfish.
We’re raised to think of ourselves before thinking of others. What will please me, what will make me
happy. I’ll think of you later. I feel like this is a blog in and of itself,
so I’ll spare you this time.
Objective 8. Love is Forgiving.
Easier
said than done perhaps. Forgiveness in
general is something that most people think they have down, yet when you dig up
past hurts, forgiveness isn’t found, the hurt is just buried. Even in the Lord’s prayer, we say “Forgive us
our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.” Does “as” mean “while we forgive others” or
“the same as we forgive others?” Big
difference. If we don’t forgive all the
sins that have occurred against us, will God forgive all of ours? I’m not starting a debate, the main point is
that forgiveness is a bigger deal than we give it credit. Forgiveness is also vital in showing love to
others, Christaisns and non-Christians alike.
You don’t have to approve when someone does something wrong, but you are
called to forgive, and God will judge in the end.
the skies in Kenya are larger than anywhere I’ve ever been. Is it the altitude? Is it because we’re on the equator? Or is it just because God knows I would be fascinated by it.
Part 2 coming at the end of the month!
