Full of zeal, we may ask God to use us for some great purpose. “I’ll do anything,” we pray. But when the call to help a hurting neighbor is uncomfortably unpredictable, inconvenient and costly, we might stare at our feet and mumble, “So, I, uh, have these other ideas for how I can make a difference. Yah?”
God doesn’t call us to ease or even to practicality, He calls us to obedience. God called the Israelites to nonsensically put their feet in the Jordan River at flood stage before He miraculously opened its waters for them to cross. Jesus told the disciples to find a small lunch to share before He multiplied it to feed 5000 hungry people. God is waiting for us to offer Him a little bit of obedience before He works wonders. When we are faithful, He reveals His reign over practicality and blesses us with the joy of giving.
Jesus says in Luke 6 to “be compassionate as your Heavenly Father is compassionate.” Now, that’s a high bar. Jesus loved us the way we needed to be loved, not the way that was most appealing to Him. If He had loved us the way His flesh wanted to love us, His Luke 22 decision the night of his avoidable arrest would not have brought blood-sweat. He would not have gone to the cross and we would still be in our sins. Instead He humbled Himself to the point of death. The all-powerful, omnipresent God of the universe willingly became an “I can’t use my hands” baby in a stable trough at Christmas then live as an “I only have two hands” human for 33 years then hold open those nail-pierced hands at Easter. And despite our fleshly selfishness, He can help us humbly serve in the comparably small ways He sends us.
Love is selfless by definition, so let’s shelve fleshly selfishness and take up the cross (Luke 9:23). When Paul wrote to “Consider others better than yourself,” and Jesus said to “Love your neighbor as yourself,” they meant it. Of course, before we can love others, we must first love ourselves. Loving ourselves is not just in choosing high confidence, good hygiene, and healthy eating. It is in spending time in scripture, discovering the character of the one who created us and understanding who He created each of us to be. In doing so, we discover that He made us both to be loved and to love. The two are inextricably intertwined.
When we know how deeply God loves us, we become eager to love God. When we love God, we become eager to love the things God loves- people. Similarly, when we know how powerful the God who loves us is, we become eager to trust Him. When we entrust our cares, funds and very lives to Him, He equips us to less hesitantly obey His call to serve others.
PRAY WITH ME. Lord, please knit your truth into my spirit and give me a tender responsive heart, not a stony stubborn one (Ezekiel 11:19-20). Help me to set my eyes on eternal things not on the temporary things my short-sighted eyes think they want. I know that if I seek your kingdom first, you will grant all my needs and if convenience and comfort are not among the things you provide, so be it. I trust you (Matt 6:33). Thank you for transforming me. Thank you for forgiving me. Fill me with Christ-like compassion and faith in your power. I am your beloved. Help me to love the people you love without dawdling. Amen
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