We know, dear
brothers and sisters, that God loves you and has chosen you to be his own people.
I sit across the table from a friend who is pouring out their
heart, and the pain they are going through is so very real. There is almost nothing I can do. I listen.
I speak very little as my heart is twisted, aching and I’m asking God
for help and wisdom.
Tears are welling up inside me as the story about this
friend’s kids makes me want to grab them up to protect them and let them know
the love of God. All I can do is affirm
the thoughts and actions of my friend, and I must even more affirm and share
that God loves them no matter what.
One of our church staff begins to share with me about one of
our members that is going through a very tough situation. Homelessness is becoming almost
inevitable. There is no matter as well
as lots and lots of troubles all around.
Yet several friends have stepped up to offer wisdom and
encouragement. None of us can make the
right choices for this church family member, but our hearts hurt for them.
Several days ago an email came into my inbox from a lady in
our community that I had a conversation with a few days before. This friend shared a few details as we talked
face to face to, but this email opened up what Paul Harvey called ‘the rest of
the story’. Again my heart sank and hurt
for this friend. They had been going
through a situation that few knew about, and in silence along with their child
sought to give help, love and even forgiveness only to be rejected. Once again all I could do was share prayers
and remind them of God’s love.
As I left a meeting yesterday afternoon my assistant sent me
a text message. It was simple and to the
point. A lady who came to our church for
help with food or benevolence spent some time talking with one of our staff and
had accepted Jesus as our savior.
Someone took a few minutes to simply reiterate the fact that God loves
her big time.
Isn’t that the most important thing we can do? Sharing the truth of God’s love makes a
difference, yet there are barriers that keep us from knowing or accepting God’s
love. One of those barriers is hunger,
another is anger or bitterness, another is the pain of brokenness. We might have to meet a need before we can
share God’s love. We might have to spend
a few minutes listening before we can talk about the goodness of God.
The love of God is the reason we do what we do. The love of God is the reason we are still
around. The love of God makes the world
go round. May our lives, our words and
our help pass on the reality of God’s love to as many people as possible and
may that love change as many lives as possible through us and through
others. The love of God is incredible!
Philemon 1:7 NLT
Your love has given me much joy and
comfort, my brother, for your kindness has often refreshed the hearts of
God’s people.
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