Imagine a dirt road, littered with tiny footprints from children scampering house to house. In these parts, everyone is family. There is no clear distinction from friends and relatives. All women on this road are sisters, all children are everyone's responsibility.
Imagine hands folded together like a prayer.
"Namaste," they tell you.
"Namaste."
They invite you into their world, arms open wide. They tell you their secrets, their troubles. Every house beckons apart of your heart to remain there. They sing songs in languages you do not understand. They empty their cupboards to fill your stomach. What little they have, they give to you. They sit on the floor in the living room, which is also their bedroom, which is also their kitchen. They hold your hand and smile.
And you are home.
You pray, you share apart of yourself with them. You long for them to really know Jesus as more than just a God who can do things for them. You want them to know His heart because that is what is beating inside of your chest. You read the Bible and see it come alive before your very eyes.
Imagine a thousand hellos coupled with a thousand goodbyes. Imagine little hands waving and reaching as you climb into your van to nestle into your bed.
You fall in love a little more everyday. It's exhausting sometimes. Love takes bravery. Especially this kind of love. This kind of love merits no response. You go home in pieces. Your heart feels divided in a million directions. You beg Jesus to make a difference in them.
And then He makes a difference in you. He fills you to overflow. He gives you things you never knew you needed. The more you pour, the more He fills. It's constant and steady as a drum keeping time. It's as unpredictable as the Missouri weather. But it comes. It's like sweetness. It's like hope. It's the truest form of love.
As much as I love India, God loves her more. So I spend my life, and He gives me life more abundantly. My heart is like the story of Jesus and the feeding of the five thousand. All I have to give is what little I am capable of. But He stretches the love inside of my chest to every single person I encounter. And by the grace of God, there is an overflow.
So today, I want to challenge you. This love doesn't come simply because I am in India. This love comes because I have a desperation to see the Gospel spread through my life. If you can't come to India, go to work or school or church. Love, even when it's hard. Choose love, especially when that person can't give love back. Beg God to fill you with a passion to see His kingdom come to earth.
If your hands, feet, and heart were the only representation of the Gospel someone has ever encountered, would they want to know Jesus?
Love more than you think you can and watch how far God will allow that to go. Challenge God's love for His people. Pray bold prayers with an open heart.
The first step in changing the world is to simply 'go'. Go down the street, to your neighbor, to your family. Just go and bring love with you.
Photo credit: Kristin Wood
