Lately, the Lord has been teaching me a lot about relationships and the significance of them. When you look at the four Gospels and the life of Jesus, you see the perfect example of missions in action. I believe that the key to the way Jesus reached and impacted so many people was that he made intentional decisions to form sincere relationships with others. He pursued real friendships with people. No one will change the course of a nation by standing up and reading a list of do’s and don’t’s and reasons why you should be a Christian. The only way to reach anyone is by taking a deep interest in them as a person and forming a sincere, loving relationship with them. You have to show them love.
This semester, my inspiring roommates and I have been reading Bob Goff’s book, Love Does. The theme of this book, and for my life right now, is that love is an action. Love does. In order to love others and share the love of Christ, you have to get out there and do something. Love doesn’t just sit around and wait on standby. Love does. It’s relational, sincere, and requires sacrifice. The Lord keeps on pointing me back to this verse in 1 John:
1 John 3:16-18
Love requires us to give of ourselves and to serve others in Jesus’ name. This is my prayer for this stage of my life, that my love will not be shown merely through words, but through selfless actions, and in return, others will be pointed to the Cross and our loving savior, Jesus Christ.
