Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People

by Bob Goff

Jesus

told His friends that letting people see the way we love each other would be the best way to let people know about Him. It wouldn’t be

Loving people means caring without an agenda.

are in need—go be with them. When you get there, don’t just be in proximity—be present. Catch them. Don’t try to teach them. There’s a big difference. We don’t need a plan to do these things. We don’t need to wait for just the right moment. We just need to show up, grab a parachute, and when it’s time, jump out of our shoes after people the way Jesus jumped out of heaven to be with us.

God has never looked in your mirror or mine and wished He saw someone else.

Do you want to do something amazing for God? Trade the appearance of being close to God for the power of actually being close to God. Quit talking a big game and go live a big faith.

We don’t need to call everything we do “ministry” anymore either. Just call it Tuesday. That’s what people who are becoming love do.

They memorize grace instead.

They don’t need anyone to clap for them. They don’t need validation for things they know are inherently right and true and beautiful. They don’t need all the accolades that come with recognition. They also don’t feel a need to criticize people who have gotten a couple of things wrong or hit a couple of sour chords in their lives.

people aren’t issues. They’re not projects either. People are people.

I usually only recognize in hindsight that the hard places I’ve navigated helped me steer a more purposeful course forward. This has been God’s idea for us all along.

I once heard a friend say all opportunities come with expiration dates. If you don’t grasp the opportunity in front of you, it’s likely going to go away at some point. Here’s the deal: All those deep urgings you feel to step toward the beautiful, courageous thing you’re afraid to do—you probably won’t always have the chance. Now is the time. Your life, your experiences, and your faith are your green lights. Make your move.

They move from merely identifying with someone’s pain to standing with them in it, and from having a bunch of opinions to giving away love and grace freely. People who are becoming love make doing these things look effortless.

Before you decide why things have happened in your past or are happening now, wait for God to whisper the reasons to you. It will be worth the wait.

From His point of view, that all rolls up into an unspoken whisper from Him I can almost hear saying, “You’ve got this.” His biggest priority isn’t removing failure as an option but reminding me He loves me as I try. There’s a verse in the Bible that says, “Do not despise these small beginnings.” I love that. It’s a reminder to me God doesn’t just value the big endeavors that work and He isn’t afraid we’ll fail; instead, He delights in our attempts.

One thing I’ve learned from Jesus is extravagant love is never wasted.

People don’t grow where they’re planted; they grow where they’re loved.

The guy who is up in front at church needs to be the same guy in the back of the rental-car line. If you can’t do that, either stop driving or get off the stage. Bringing

I hear the gentle and kind voice of Jesus reminding me once again to stop laying sod where He’s planting seed in my life. His reason is simple: He’s more interested in making us grow than having us look finished. He wants me to realize I’m just not quite there yet.

is when we’re looking for a plan, God often sends us a person.

where we meet shapes the discussions we’ll have. We’ve all experienced this, but few of us put this idea into practice when we’re setting our meetings.

with: 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.

We’re all going to trip as we try to follow Him through the difficult terrain of our lives. But when we do, we’ll bump into Him all over again. Following Jesus means climbing, tripping, dusting ourselves off, and climbing some more. Faith isn’t a business trip walked on a sidewalk; it’s an adventure worked out on a steep and sometimes difficult trail.

Talk to them about who they’re becoming and the bright hope that is their future. Speak truthful and wise words over them. Bring a few medals too. As you put the last one on their chest, look them in the eye and tell them, “Look how far you’ve come.” Knowing that the journey you and I are on never really ends, we can ask the people we love one of the most important questions ever conceived. “Where do you want to go?”

And people who are growing fall forward and bump into Jesus all over again.

Don’t put a toe in the water with your love; grab your knees and do a cannonball. Move from the bleachers to the field and you won’t ever be the same.

Don’t just love the people who are easy to love; go love the difficult ones. If you do this, Jesus said you’d move forward on your journey toward being more like Him.