Speaking of LOVE ... love is not love if it does not give.
For God so loved that world that He gave ... (John 3:16)
... let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. (I John 3:18)
... the only thing that counts if faith expressing itself through love. (Gal. 5:6)
"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' (Mt. 25: 37-40)
I think we try to rationalize that we love God and of course we love people ... but we don't really love ALL people, and more importantly, we don't necessarily love the people GOD loves. We love those who are easy and convenient. Those who are like us and those who make us feel good. We love those who are deserving or worthy. Again, who doesn't.
And I think sometimes we even do ok with the Matthew 25 "whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me ..." I mean, most of us serve the "least of these" on a mission trip or in a community ministry. We have those seasons and times in our life when we do get outside of our comfort box and love on those different from us. However, how would we measure up in the "whatever you did NOT do for the least of these, you did NOT do for me??" Hmmmmmmmm ... that one's a bit tougher. It's not only what we DO, but it's also what we FAIL to do! Kind of that sins of comission and sins of omission kind of thing ... it's not just what we DO for Him that God's looking at ... it's also what we failed to do. Did I react with kindness to the waitress at Cracker Barrel who told us way more of her life story than we needed to know? Was I laughing with her or at her? What did my attitude say about the slow driver in front of me? Was I patient with the checker at Lowes who rang up my order wrong? Did I avoid the person who annoys me? But also ... What did I FAIL to do in loving people this week? Where did I fail to love Christ? Did I walk past that person who needed to talk? Did I ignore that person's need for a meal? Did I fail to ask how someone was because I really didn't have the time for their answer?
When Adam and Becca were at Gathering a few weeks ago, she was telling me how she loved Isaiah 58 and had kind of adopted this as her life verse ....
The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail. (v. 11)
I mean who wouldn't love those promises? A well watered garden is fruitful and beautiful. But, as I read those verses this morning in Crazy Love, I remembered what else she had discovered. This is a conditional promise. If you back up to the verse before it, you see that it starts with that little two letter word ... "if" ...
if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday. (v. 10)
IF you spend yourself on behalf of those in need... I love that he uses the phrase "spend yourself" ... because let's go back again to the idea that we don't love if we don't give. And it's not only money. It amazes me of how quick we are to "throw money" at causes and at people. We let that be a substitute for making the sacrifice of time to get to know them and their stories, to volunteer our precious time and energy to be involved in lives and to be part of change. I've come to know more than I ever did before that change takes time. And being involved in someone's life for Christ to change them has an indefinite time frame attached. And that gives most of us the shakes ... because we want to know when our commitment will end. But then, that's not the crazy us, the whatever we do for others we do for Christ us, the give and love those who hurt us, annoy us, scare us, betray us, are different than us ... us.
And none of it changes until we become a person OBSESSED with Christ and OBSESSED with loving Him. Someone madly in love who can't get enough of the one they are in love with. It's the obsessed who do the crazy things. I want my life to be characterized by this.
Chris Tomlin says it this way ...
Give me one pure and holy passion
Give me one magnificent obsession
Give me one glorious ambition for my life
To know and follow hard after you
To know and follow hard after you
To grow as your disciple in the truth
This world is empty, pale, and poor
Compared to knowing you my Lord
Lead me on and I will run after you
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