We do some things on the World Race that I would’ve thought were a bit silly before being on the race, if not absolutely crazy. Well, one of these things happened the other day. My team and I decided to commit ourselves to a “Holy Spirit-led” afternoon…
I guess I should first explain something else a little bit crazy that’s happening right now. Our team has a little bit of a different “placement” this month. It’s called Unsung Heroes. Basically, our assignment is to go into areas where Adventures In Missions doesn’t have ministry contacts and try to meet people and organizations that could be capable of partnership and hosting World Race teams in the future. Unsung Heroes means a lot of freedom, a heavy dose of uncertainty, and a lot of listening to Jesus for practical, tangible decisions like, “What should we do today?” and “Where should we live this month?” It’s faith-growing and unifying and patience-building. And it’s all a bit crazy, but here’s the craziest bit: we are living on an island! A tiny, kind of magical island in the Gulf of Thailand called Phu Quoc, where Jesus keeps blessing us over and over with everything from the people we’ve chatted with at coffee shops, to the ministry contacts we’ve discovered, to the fresh watermelon we’ve eaten on the beach.
…So, back to the “Holy Spirit-led afternoon.” We broke off into two groups and asked Jesus where we should go, what we should do, who we should talk to. Sometimes you do this, and he gives you the face of a stranger to look for. This time, He didn’t. Sometimes, he gives you an exact location, or words to say, or a verse, or a specific “mission.” This time, He didn’t. My teammate Chantai was with me, and she felt like we should talk to the young people. People kind of like us, but different. Well, the island’s crawling with tourists, and where do tourists flock to but the beach? So we walked ourselves down to the beach, and we kept asking Jesus to show us more. Give us more. Tell us more. It was starting to seem like he wasn’t giving us much at all, but then Chantai had an idea. This girl’s a superstar, and her best ideas always seem to start like this one did: “You guys know what would be pretty cool?” She suggested we find some couples (again, not difficult on a beach crawling with tourists) and ask them their love stories. Ask them how they met, ask them how they fell in love, ask them why they love each other.
Well, I love love. It might be my favorite thing. It’s my favorite thing about my friends. It’s my favorite thing about Jesus. Love is cool.
So we started to approach these couples, three girls on the beach asking sunbathing strangers if they’d tell us a little bit of their love story. The first couple we approached gave us an awkward smile before telling us they’re actually siblings. Cool. It’s going great so far.
The second couple we approached looked at each other, and gave nothing more than a firm, “No.” The third couple, “No English,” with a wave of the hand. The fourth couple, “I don’t think we’re the kind of people you’re looking for.” We were a little dejected at best, defeated at worst. People didn’t want to share. Isn’t love something to be shared?
Then we got to the fifth couple. A tattooed Swedish couple. A blond twenty-something with a pink bikini and pinker cheeks from the sun. We gave them our spiel, and they said yes. A genuine smile and a “sure” from a tall, thin bearded man with at least 37 facial piercings and “Veronica” in scripted ink on his bicep. He told us how they met (“at her aunt’s house”), how he knew they should be together (“I just knew”), and what they like to do together (“we like to travel, we like to walk; to just walk and talk and discover.”). He told us about their recent engagement and how sure he was that it’s forever. Sure enough to tattoo 8 letters onto his arm and sure enough to put a ring on it. I think that’s pretty beautiful.
And then we kept going. A Russian man gave us the most matter-of-fact smirk as he looked at his wife of 21 years and said authoritatively, “She’s fun, she’s beautiful.” A young woman in a beach chair blushed as she told us what she loves about her boyfriend, “He’s kind, he’s generous, he’s brave. I can tell him anything.” A dark-haired, muscular man couldn’t keep from kissing his girlfriend’s forehead as he thought about how he knew she was different. “She’s amazing; I just knew.” A fair, thin, freckled woman with the freest spirit giggled as she told us, “I picked him up outside a bar, not that romantic.” Her candid smile was enough to tell me it was a little bit romantic after all. Ordinary people, turned giggly and looking almost enchanted thinking about their love.
I learned something that day. Or maybe I was reminded of something I already knew. Real love can’t really be hidden. It’s explosive and contagious and beautiful and extravagant. It’s not clean-cut. It spills over at the edges. When your love is genuine, how can you keep from sharing? How can you keep from blushing and giggling in awe when you think about your love?
Do you think that’s the way God feels about us? I’m actually quite certain it is.
I guess I couldn’t help but wonder: what about the ‘No’s? When all you have in response to, “Tell me a little bit of your love story,” is a blank stare and a quiet “no, thank you.” That’s a little painful, isn’t it? Something’s wrong. That’s not the way we dream of our futures, not the way we write our love stories. That’s not the love that is of God. That’s not the love story God has in mind for us.
I believe in love. I know love. I think love makes me believe in God even more than God makes me believe in love. “For love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God…God is love.” (1 John 4:7).
I’m not quite sure how you can believe in love without believing in God, how you can separate the two. The things I love about love are the things I love about God. They’re the things I love about some of my favorite people, too: patient, kind, humble, honoring. The thing about people, though, is that people fail and fail and fail. The thing about love is that it’s of God, and it doesn’t. Love makes people worth something, worth everything even. Love gives us something to believe in, something we can feel completely of God when feeling God himself seems so complicated.
Such a beautiful paradox, that love is a true reflection of a God who is everywhere yet unseen, incomprehensible yet small enough to fit into the tiniest crevices of our hearts, insanely jealous yet wildly forgiving.
Know love and know God. Simple, right? Almost too simple to be the greatest commandment, but I think I’ll take it. If your love is genuine, why keep quiet? Why not let it be a bit crazy?
Let’s love one another, and let’s love out loud.
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
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 22:36-39
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. -1 Peter 4:8
