Guess I wasn't the best one to ask
Me myself with my face pressed up against love's glass
To see the shiny toy i've been hoping for
The one I never can afford
The wide world spins and spits turmoil
And the nations toil for peace
But the paws of fear upon your chest
Only love can soothe that beast...
(excerpt from Love Will Come to You by the Indigo Girls)
Tough stuff, loving. The more I talk to people---no, the more I listen---the more aware I am not just of what Jesus said when he casually mentioned that we should feed the poor, love the unloveable, help the sick, the widows, the orphans, sell our posessions, etc...but rather, I'm suddenly aware of what he meant. And interestingly, it's not really all that hard. When He said, "Feed the poor," I think what he actually meant was to FEED the poor. And, when he says things like, "Help care for orphans and widows," I think He actually meant us to do that, physically.
Some parts of the Bible are metaphorical, but I think when Jesus gave commands to the disciples and the crowds he wasn't just being metaphorical when he was talking about life changing love. The simplest things we do can actually alter someone else's life. Improve life.
I think as a westerner---particularly as an American---I spend far too much time thinking about how I want to be loved and what that looks like in my world. Not that God doesn't want wonderful things for me, or for any of His children...but wouldn't my time be better spent loving other people than worrying about myself? Like for example, hugging my student who this morning looked like he hadn't had a bath or clean clothes for a few days, and saying, "Hey, good job, buddy. You were really helpful today. Thank you for being a good listener." Or maybe it means having a Trade is One gathering at my house. Maybe, it's going to Africa to be the hands and feet of Jesus by handing out life-saving antibiotics or clean water. Or maybe even just learning the name of the guy who serves us every week at Fellini's.
The bigger I realize God is---that He is the God of all people, everywhere---the more intentional I think I am becoming in my pursuit of loving the other people. Because to God, they are just people. And it may cost something. It may cost time, money, emotions...it may cost letting go of one thing to gain another.
Love is hard stuff. Really.
This is a statue of Jesus holding the hand of a mother who lost her child. It's in the middle of Timisoara, Romania outside of an orphanage. The statue was specially commissioned to show Romanian women of Jesus's love for them, particularly in a culture where abortion is rampant. Through a crisis pregnancy center sponsored by Vox Domini Church, thousands of women are counseled each year, most of them electing to have their babies and end up gaining support from and being cared for by the church. (PHOTO AT TOP: Taken by Kelli in Kenya...local Samburu children)
Some parts of the Bible are metaphorical, but I think when Jesus gave commands to the disciples and the crowds he wasn't just being metaphorical when he was talking about life changing love. The simplest things we do can actually alter someone else's life. Improve life.
I think as a westerner---particularly as an American---I spend far too much time thinking about how I want to be loved and what that looks like in my world. Not that God doesn't want wonderful things for me, or for any of His children...but wouldn't my time be better spent loving other people than worrying about myself? Like for example, hugging my student who this morning looked like he hadn't had a bath or clean clothes for a few days, and saying, "Hey, good job, buddy. You were really helpful today. Thank you for being a good listener." Or maybe it means having a Trade is One gathering at my house. Maybe, it's going to Africa to be the hands and feet of Jesus by handing out life-saving antibiotics or clean water. Or maybe even just learning the name of the guy who serves us every week at Fellini's.
The bigger I realize God is---that He is the God of all people, everywhere---the more intentional I think I am becoming in my pursuit of loving the other people. Because to God, they are just people. And it may cost something. It may cost time, money, emotions...it may cost letting go of one thing to gain another.
Love is hard stuff. Really.
This is a statue of Jesus holding the hand of a mother who lost her child. It's in the middle of Timisoara, Romania outside of an orphanage. The statue was specially commissioned to show Romanian women of Jesus's love for them, particularly in a culture where abortion is rampant. Through a crisis pregnancy center sponsored by Vox Domini Church, thousands of women are counseled each year, most of them electing to have their babies and end up gaining support from and being cared for by the church. (PHOTO AT TOP: Taken by Kelli in Kenya...local Samburu children)
2 comments:
I just finished Donald Miller's chapter on love-have you read it? He talks so much about what you were just saying...that our calling is to really love people, all people. It was a great chapter that really made me think-and you echo many of his thoughts here!
Yes, I've read Don's book and remember that part. I am now reading "Through Painted Deserts." Then I'll have read all of them, and he has a new one coming out in the new year. Yay! Seeing him at our Labor Day Retreat really sort of shifted my thinking quite a lot on lots of topics. Or maybe I just realized what I believed all along anyway...
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