Be loved. Love. Make a Difference.
A few years ago is was introduced to this simple formula, a shortcut you might say, to being a Christian. Its biblical basis is John 15, but it untangles the jumble of “love me”s as I have “loved you”s, and “abide in me”s as "I abide in you"s. It is a simple, memorable phrase that a Christian can put in their pocket or hold in their heart.
Be loved. Love. Make a Difference.
"Be loved."
I am constantly surprised at how many lifelong Christians do not know that they are loved by God. Maybe I should not. Though sermon after sermon reiterate God’s unending, unconditional love for us, I guess it is still hard to hear that message in a world that is constantly telling us that we need to prove ourselves in some way in order to be loved.
Students need to get good grades in order to have a good life in the future. It is a lot of pressure. It is a lot of messaging that says, “Prove yourself and you will be loved.”
That message does not stop after you get the good grades and the good job though. Instead, the message gets even stronger. You must to do well at your job in order to get the reward. Do you want to be out of the street? No? Then do better than the next guy at your job, because the next guy just might take it from you. “Prove your worth and you will be loved.”
It does not even end at conclusion of your career. Adult children failing to come around often? Maybe, it is because they do not love you. Maybe, you were not a good enough parent to make them care. Maybe, you are not lovable.
Do you see what I mean? The world in no way loves you unconditionally. Quite to the contrary, the world requires you to prove yourself over and over again.
Before I was married, I once bought carpenter shorts under the delusion that they would find me love. You know carpenter shorts. They are basically cargo pants with the little loop on the side where you can carry your hammer. Because, after-all, what guy goes places without their hammer?
Plus, the big, overblown picture in the store showed a guy wearing his carpenter shorts with an infatuated girl hanging off of his left shoulder. He had a hammer hanging from his shorts.
He was rugged. He was hard working. He was scraggy in that good looking way. He was a person who bought a hammer.
Hammer? I need to add that to the shopping list!
I have to make a startling admission at this point in my life. After I bought the pants, and the hammer, girls never flocked to my side.
I do not know if you have ever realized this or not, but the whole loving the guy with the carpenter shorts thing was all a big con to get me to buy some shorts…and a hammer. I never even bought any nails…just the hammer.
I wanted so desperately to be loved, and an ad agency played right into that insecurity. They knew scientifically that girls do not flock to guys with cargo fashioned carpenter shorts. They knew that girls flock to guys with tight fitting jeans. But, they used my insecurity over wanting to be loved, to try to fill that void with shorts instead.
They wanted money. I wanted love. They got their money. I got a hammer. Makes total sense.
But, I was loved. That is the thing that makes this all so tragic. If I had stayed awake during church rather than using the time to take a nap or draw scenes of storm troopers battling the rebel alliance on the side of the bulletin inserts, I would have heard Jesus say, “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Abide in my love.”
“Abide in my love.”
These are not just some nice words; they are an invitation to live in God’s love…to bath in God’s love.
Swim in God’s love. Soak in God’s love. Let it envelop you and soak into your skin. Jesus displays so much love for you that he would go to any length for you. He would even die on a cross, just so that you would know the extent to which he loves you.
“No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends,” Jesus says.
Allow yourself to “Be loved,” because you are.
“Love.”
Jesus means that as a command. “Love.” Love one another. Again, that is not a command that you need to perform in order to be loved. Rather, since you have been bathing in the love of Jesus Christ and it has been entering into your pores and into your soul, you probably have more than enough.
Like an 8 year old girl who has just discovered the wonders of perfume, the smell of love should be exuding from your every pore. You have allowed yourself to “Be loved,” now love will simply come from you.
Sitting in the motel room for which a local charity had paid the night, the boy asked his Mom, “Why?”
“Why did you quit your job? Why did you stay in the hospital room with me every night? Why did you use up your entire life savings to be with me? Why?”
It was not that he was ungrateful. The absolutely needed her during the spells of puking from the chemo. He needed her when he felt like he was going to die. He needed her hugs and reassurances the entire time. But, she had ruined herself in the process. “Why did you do it Mom?”
“Because, I love you,” she said simply.
It was all that needed to be said.
When you are given a great amount of sacrificial love from Jesus, you cannot help but to share that love yourself. That sort of love can, of course, land you in a hotel room with no money. That sort of love can, of course, land you on a cross of torture. But, the mother thought that it was worth it. And, so did Jesus. Jesus Christ thought the cross was worth it.
Do not worry about the boy and his mom . They are good now. Some other followers of Jesus Christ gave of themselves and helped them to get back on their feet.
That is what Christians do after-all. We allow ourselves to “Be loved,” we “love” others, and in doing so we automatically “Make a difference” in the world; if even in a small way.
Be loved. Love. Make a Difference.
It is the motto of those who abide in Jesus’ love. It is the simple guide to all that is holy. It is the short guide for those whom Jesus calls friends.
Be loved. Love. Make a Difference.
No comments:
Post a Comment