God calls me to love everyone.. all of the time.. (Not just when I want to) He is teaching me not only to always love others but to love them with no intent or purpose behind it. To love others simply because they are His children too! This year I have been and will continue to be confronted with many hard and interesting, yet growth worthy challenges. One of those is living with 5 other girls, in very confined spaces practically evading every little inch of personal space that I could ever only wish for. Now, don’t get me wrong, I also do my share of invading space, we have to.. We don’t really have a choice.. We spend pretty much every waking moment together whether we are doing ministry, hanging out with our contacts, sick, exercising, eating, even when we are sleeping we are touching.. We do everything together all of the time. Please don’t take this blog as me complaining because I’m not. I love it!.. I really do, I am simply sharing a truth that God is teaching me this week. He is teaching me that I can’t continue to love these girls on my own strength. None of us can. We can’t give enough positive feedback, or be “nice” enough, to get each other to where God wants us to be at the end of the year. He wants me to love them according to what He says about them, according to His word. He wants me to pray for them when I am aggravated and when I feel like the only thing I want to do is go for a long run all by myself. He wants me to bless them and encourage them in Christ. He wants me to love them with His love.. not mine.. Because His love is the love that changes hearts and as a result changes lives. His love is everlasting and mine, most definitely, is not. I’m learning that if I can give this to Him, this wanting to do things with my own strength and with my definition of love (which says that I only have to love when others are loving me) , and trust that with His love, His power, and His strength, things will happen, people will be moved, and lives will be changed; not just now but forever!
Also, a little bit of a different angle, but on the same topic of Love.. A few nights ago myself, and some of my teammates, were sitting at a little ice cream place downtown when this guy, who looked to be homeless, came up asking us for money. He was saying that he was hungry and was very persistent about getting some money for food. As I sat and looked at my team, we were discussing our options, “Do we give him money?” “Do we take him somewhere to buy him some food.” Before we could come to a decision a lady at the table next to us very generously offered up her large bowl of ice cream. The man sat down and ate it, in what seemed to be a few seconds and he was gone. This led into a conversation about what to do in another situation like this, so we don’t waste another opportunity to share the love of Christ. Some of my teammates discussed the possibility that if we gave money to someone they could take it and buy drugs or alcohol. I interject about how a pastor one time told me that it doesn’t matter what someone does with the money that I give, that is between them and God. But what does matter is that God gave me a commandment to love others, so if the least I can do is give some money, then that’s what I should do. We had a really good conversation that eventually led into finding scripture, supporting what we should do in this kind of situation. Now looking back on that night, I know that my team and I should have found a way to get him some food or given him some money. Next time, I will be well prepared. Here are some bible verses that talk about loving others 🙂
1 John 3:11-18
11For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. 13Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters,[b]if the world hates you. 14We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.
16This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
“Love everywhere you go, don’t let anyone leave you without feeling loved.”
