The Hardest Person to Love
I don't have trouble getting students interested in caring about orphans in Africa (which they should). Even my kids get this. My daughter asked me last night, rather, told me that we need to support a child in Africa. I said that was a good idea but how about them (our children) doing it instead of Daddy writing a check they never saw or supported. "I don't make enough money. I don't have a job. My allowance isn't enough..."
Recently we did an overnighter at the local Housing Authority. It was a near disaster. I had one of the longest weeks of my life following a weekend of moving in our new home. I didn't plan for our "Mercy Weekend" to be the very next weekend but that is how it ended up. I had a meeting in Tennessee that morning and hustled back, grabbed my gear, headed to the meeting place where I thought I'd meet about 12 students who till then had written their name on a piece of paper but showed very little interest in serving children or elderly in our community. They weren't opposed to it, just not grabbing the bull by the horns. Neither was I when one student was there to meet me. Fifteeen minutes passed. Twenty. I began throwing thunder bolts and curses, admitting my anger. My student was silent. Come to find out later, he was mad, too! Eventually several more students showed up, threw their weight and hearts into it and did a great job simply being normal and not "helping those poor people." They were themselves and rubbed shoulders very naturally with those we worked with. After a night of poker where I crushed all invovled my heart was restored.
I was reading recently in John when Jesus is on the cross. In the midst of carrying our weight and shouldering our sin he does the unthinkable - he rescues a widow who is about to lose her son. He asks John to care for his mother and he does. He takes her into his own home, no questions asked. Jesus doesn't ask him to care for all the widows in the world or solve the problem of poverty (the poor you will always have with you). He asks him to care for his mother in the faith and sister in Christ right beside him. Eventually the church would, as a body, care for the needs right under their noses. Fanning out a bit they would catch other needs in their midst. But, the gospel always calls us to stop overlooking our neighbor, our enemy, our sister, our brother, our parents, our children, our bosses, our roommates. At least in my meager 38 years these are the hardest to love especially when the need is great and their are religious things I'd rather attend to over at the Temple.
My dreams are that students will love their roommates, the kids God places them next to in class, the loser nobody sits with at lunch, the parent who annoys them, the Church where he has them, the needs right down the street and across continents. But, it is always a beautiful thing to see it happen right under our noses!
Recently we did an overnighter at the local Housing Authority. It was a near disaster. I had one of the longest weeks of my life following a weekend of moving in our new home. I didn't plan for our "Mercy Weekend" to be the very next weekend but that is how it ended up. I had a meeting in Tennessee that morning and hustled back, grabbed my gear, headed to the meeting place where I thought I'd meet about 12 students who till then had written their name on a piece of paper but showed very little interest in serving children or elderly in our community. They weren't opposed to it, just not grabbing the bull by the horns. Neither was I when one student was there to meet me. Fifteeen minutes passed. Twenty. I began throwing thunder bolts and curses, admitting my anger. My student was silent. Come to find out later, he was mad, too! Eventually several more students showed up, threw their weight and hearts into it and did a great job simply being normal and not "helping those poor people." They were themselves and rubbed shoulders very naturally with those we worked with. After a night of poker where I crushed all invovled my heart was restored.
I was reading recently in John when Jesus is on the cross. In the midst of carrying our weight and shouldering our sin he does the unthinkable - he rescues a widow who is about to lose her son. He asks John to care for his mother and he does. He takes her into his own home, no questions asked. Jesus doesn't ask him to care for all the widows in the world or solve the problem of poverty (the poor you will always have with you). He asks him to care for his mother in the faith and sister in Christ right beside him. Eventually the church would, as a body, care for the needs right under their noses. Fanning out a bit they would catch other needs in their midst. But, the gospel always calls us to stop overlooking our neighbor, our enemy, our sister, our brother, our parents, our children, our bosses, our roommates. At least in my meager 38 years these are the hardest to love especially when the need is great and their are religious things I'd rather attend to over at the Temple.
My dreams are that students will love their roommates, the kids God places them next to in class, the loser nobody sits with at lunch, the parent who annoys them, the Church where he has them, the needs right down the street and across continents. But, it is always a beautiful thing to see it happen right under our noses!