Loving the Least of These

Last weekend I went to Winterfest, which is one of my favorite youth group events and during the 8 hour drive down I finished reading Red Letters by Tom Davis, and if you haven't read it, I strongly suggest it, especially if you are a fan of Irrisistible Revolution. It's one of those books you just can't seem to put down. Throughout the book, I found myself smiling at the hope it brought, cringing at my own selfishness and becoming furious at the way the world looks when it comes to poverty, and the AIDS crisis, and of course, it made me cry, a lot. It is a true, knock-you-to-your-knees book. There are a lot of lessons to be learned in that book, through looking at the church and its responsibility to care for all the orphaned children in our world, and learning to love 'the least of these' as family, and not just thinking of them as a charity case.

One of the things that I've been learning lately, from this book and from Winterfest is what it really means to love my neighbor as myself. Now, I know that this is something that we are taught to do from a very, very young age, but what this actually looks like is different than what I've thought all these years, the real meaning is just now starting to sink in. I guess I always thought that loving my neighbor meant loving those that are close to me and the people that I care about, and I should love them, but I should also be loving those who are hurting, my enemies, and those who the rest of the world forgets about because they don't appear to be like the rest of us. But really deep down, they are just like us. They too, were created in God's image, just like me and you. So I guess we really do have a lot more in common with them than I thought. During one of the Saturday sessions at Winterfest, this all started sinking in when Jeff Walling talked about treating everyone we come in contact with as if they were Jesus. It kinda hit home when I realized that more often than I'd like to admit, I pass judgement on others just by appearance, instead I should be seeing Jesus in their eyes. I need to start seeing Jesus in the eyes of my enemies, the homeless, the hungry, the terrorist, the child molester, the prostitute, the jock, the teenage mom, or even the lonely kid at school, and treating them with the same love that Christ has shown me.

Sam

Last night I sat in my room trying to journal, and myself struggling to get anything out in a way that made sense. I had so many thoughts bouncing around my head, and so many things on my heart that I just didn't know to get them out. There are so many things that I just simply don't understand and I found my self crying out in search of answers. So I decided to just simply ask God some questions:

What is your plan for my life? How will the relationships that I have that are dear to my heart change while I'm in Honduras for a few months? Will they be the same when I come home? Can I go to Africa? I know we are supposed to help the poor and that we will find you among them, but you said that the world will always have poor people, so will our help to them ever be enough? Will poverty ever end? When can all the hungry children around the world have enough food to eat? Why am I so selfish? Will the church ever be what you intended it to be? When will I become the person that you insist I already am? When will the world stop seeing Christians as a bunch of hypocritical, faithless, insensitive, jerks? What does love really look like? Will I be with you to the end? When will we, the church, stop closing the doors on those who so desperately need to meet you? Why can't all of your children in every denomination put our differences aside long enough to serve you whole-heartedly, and change this world? How many of your children will die tonight of starvation/malnutrition? How many tons of fries did America consume today? Will I ever live a faith that bleeds? Why can't I get this Christianity stuff down? When you said 'sell everything you have and give to the poor" did you really mean it? Why are there so many orphans around the world? When will I run straight into your arms and never look back? Why do I lose faith in you so easily? Why is Honduras so far from West Virginia? Why do people leave our lives as quickly as they came in? Why is it so hard to let go? Why are goodbyes so hard? What does true sacrifice look like? Am I doing enough? When will I realize that your grace is enough for me? When will I realize that the world spins on your energy, not mine? Why does racism still exist? When will I learn to see Jesus in the eyes of my enemies? When will be take Jesus' teachings seriously? Am I going to Hell for clapping in church? [ ok, I know I'm not, but I just had to throw that one in there for laughs.] Why do bad things happen to good people? Why are people dying in third world countries of cureable diseases, starvation, and AIDS while the church sits in its pews arguing over what we do for an hour on Sunday mornings? When will I learn to love my neighbors as myself? Why has church become the last place people turn to for help? Why is it so hard to see you in the midst of the storm? When I can't see you, are you still there? At the end of time are we going up, or are you coming down? Why are our church fellowship meals so inclusive? Will I go to Hell if I skip Sunday school to go be with the homeless of my community? [ again, just needed a good laugh] Why won't the United States send life saving medicines to Africa for children that will die without them? When will there be pure water for everyone to drink? Do you hear my prayers? Why can't the homeless sleep in our church buildings? When will the US stop being so selfish? Is your kingdom breaking through? Do people see you living in me? When will I learn to love like I mean it? Will I ever be close enough to someone's pain so that they will be close enough to catch your love? Do you really speak in times of silence? When will I sit still and shut up long enough to hear your voice? Will love really heal my heart?


- Sam

Sacrifice-
noun- the surrender or destruction of something prized or desirable for the sake of something considered as having a higher or more pressing claim.

verb- to surrender or give up, or permit injury or disadvantage to, for the sake of something else.

With every passing year it seems that time goes by faster and faster. One minute we are celebrating the new year and the next thing you know its Thanksgiving. It seems like just yesterday I was a freshman, and now I'm more than half way done with my senior year. It just doesn't seem real some days. If theres one thing I've learned about life over the last few months, it's that I shouldn't take the time that I have with my closest friends and family for granted. I'm learning to cherish every single minute I have with the people that have become so dear to this heart. Iwant to be present in these moments, not thinking about what I need to get done or what I need to do for school, what my crazy schedule is for the next day, or anything else. I want to soak in every single minute of the time I have with them, I wanna live in the moment. These are the moments that you can't get back once they are gone, and so I am tucking away every hug, smile, laugh, and tear into the deepest corners of my heart. The memories that I am making right now will forever remain precious to my heart, and although I am very ready for all the adventures the next chapter of my life is going to bring, at the same time I'm trying to live in this moment, the one right here, right now, instead of wishing it away, anxiously awaiting the next exciting event. I'm finding that there is something that is so special and so sacred in each moment of the day, whether I'm with friends having the time of my life, riding in the car listening to a favorite song, going on a crazy adventure to walmart, or just sitting in moments of silence, there is something happening in each moment, something that God wants me to see, something that I need to hear him whispering to me, something to learn. Maybe sometimes that simply means noticing a beautiful sunset, or starry night and sitting back, humbled and left in awe by the awesomeness of our God. I know for me lately thats exactly what it means, is simply sitting back and shutting up long enough to hear God speaking to me in the most tender moments, reminding me that He is still God, and always will be. And that everything will be ok because He has already conquered it all.

Just like Steven Curtis Chapman says in his song, Miracle of the Moment - Breathe it in and breathe it out, listen to your heartbeat, there's a wonder in the here and now; it's right there in front of you and I don't want you to miss the miracle of the moment.

This is your life, don't miss a single moment of it.

- Sam