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When joy is a habit, love is a reflex.
When the limo driver went home that night to the woman he’s been living with for the past ten years, do you think he told her he’d met a Christian guy that day who told him he was supposed to be married? Of course not! I bet he told her he’d met a guy who told him who he was. That’s our job. It’s always been our job. We’re supposed to just love the people in front of us. We’re the ones who tell them who they are.
The same thing happens in our faith. We hope for good things to happen to people in need. We hope it and we hope it and we hope it some more. When we do, our brain can fool us into thinking we’re actually helping. But hoping isn’t helping. Hoping is just hoping. Don’t be fooled. It’s easy to do.
There’s a verse in the Bible that says, “Do not despise these small beginnings.”
He doesn’t care as much as we do whether we perform perfectly or not. He just wants us to be His while we do it.
Almost a thousand children are abducted by witch doctors in a single year in Uganda alone. The belief among witch doctors is that the head or blood or private parts of their victims have magical powers. They bury them in foundations of buildings and use them for ceremonies and for other horrible practices. Mothers will protect their newborn baby girls by piercing their ears at birth, hoping they’ll no longer represent a perfect sacrifice.
What if we weren’t afraid anymore? Throughout history, God has spoken three words more often than any others when the people He loved were scared and confused, lost or lonely, paralyzed or stuck. In those times, He usually didn’t make a big speech. He just said to His people, Be. Not. Afraid.
Our problem following Jesus is we’re trying to be a better version of us, rather than a more accurate reflection of Him.
said, “Charlie, look how far you’ve come.” People who are becoming love celebrate how far the people around them have come. They’re constantly asking the question, “Where do you want to go?” Then they help the people around them get there.
Four hours later, I received a short text message from these two witch doctors who used to do unthinkable wrongs but have now experienced the power of love and acceptance and grace at our school. Here’s the message I received: “We’ve rescued the child.” “He’s with his mother.” And a moment later, I received a text message that simply read: “Love does.” I lost it.
Every time I wonder who I should love and for how long I should love them, God continues to whisper to me: Everybody, always.