Love Extravagantly

"Hatred stirs up quarrels, but love makes up for all offenses." Proverbs 10:12(NLT)

Love. It's a common word to us anymore, used at least several times a day in my vocabulary, not even when I'm referring to a person, but maybe to the spaghetti I just ate at olive garden, or maybe a favorite tv show. I throw love out all the time, but only a couple times a day do I really mean it.

At CIY this summer, I challenged myself to love people more. While I'm not necessarily a mean person, I wanted to be someone who exemplefied the idea of loving people. The hard part is, I wasn't just talking about my bff, my boyfriend, or my pets, but rather that guy who doesn't know what deoderant is, or that girl who annoys me more than anything. I wanted to be someone who loved the unlovable. That's why I want to be a high school teacher, to show the kids who don't think that anyone gives a rat's behind about them that they are wrong. Like most things in this world, this proved harder than I had anticipated.

1 John 4:20-21 (Message translation) pretty much calls me out, "If anyone boasts, 'I love God,' and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won't love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can't see? The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You've got to love both." Yep. Pretty much hits me dead on. How can I say I love God and then judge those that I don't get along with or don't like? I often fall guilty to the "I don't really hate them" thinking, but how much better is it to talk about people and insult them behind their backs? Not very, in my opinion.

This is a hard subject for me to write about because I know that I fail to love people all the time. I judge people, I laugh at them, I make fun of them if they're different than the people I like. I know it's wrong, but what do I do? I slap on a "just kidding" and pretend I didn't mean it. Who am I fooling? Certainly not God.

"This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother." 1 John 3:10. Wow again, I am smacked in the face with the importance of loving those around me. The hardest part is getting around my cultural instincts to protect myself, to make myself look better, and to try and survive in the social world. I struggle to push aside those barriers and love people as God's creations. I don't know why it's so hard, but it is.

So how do I do this? How can I love the people in this world that make me either want to tear my hair out or sit on the other side of the room? Frankly I'm not entirely sure. The only thing I can figure out is that I must become more like Christ, who loved the worst people in the world while he was on earth and then died for them and everyone alike. Colossians 3 is turning into one of my favorite chapters. Verses 12-14 say, "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." There it is. The Amplified Bible puts it as "putting on behavior marked by tenderhearted pity and mercy, kind feeling, a lowly opinion of yourselves, gentle ways, [and] patience [which is tireless and long-suffering, and has the power to endure whatever comes, with good temper]." I read about these traits and I understand the defecit in my life that I have when it comes to loving the unloved. I don't have mercy for those I don't like, I want to show them what's up! I succumb to pride when I'm around those I consider better than myself. And of course, my patience flys away so fast when I'm around those annoying or obnoxious people that it's not even funny. Really though, it's not funny. Because God calls me to love those people, to show them gentelness and patince and humility and kindness and compassion.

2 Timothy 2:24(NLT) says, "A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people." Ahhh...that last part there especially hits me. Be patient with difficult people. See, I think that love comes in many different forms. It's not just hugging people or saying "I love you." It may be that, yes, but not necessarily. I think that God calls us to love people by countering what it is about them that we don't like. Everyone bugs me in some way, so I can love them by letting go of that irritation and countering it with kindness or patience or humility. For example: There is a girl I know named Olivia*. She tests me and tries my patience in just about every way imaginable. Our personalities are so completely polar opposite that every time we are in the same room we annoy each other. I think that the way God wants me to love her is by rising above that irritation. God wants me to have patience with Olivia rather than snapping at her or verbally fighting back. There's another, Amanda*, whose company I do not enjoy at all. Frankly, she creeps me out. We've all been there. Certain people just don't go well together, but that does NOT mean that I am not called to love them. I think that God has called me, not necessarily to seek out Amanda's company, but when I am around her to, rather than becoming annoyed and prideful, to put my feelings aside and be kind. And not fake kind, pretending to be sweet and then laughing about it later, but being genuinely kind for once. Romans 12:9-10 says(NLT), "Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other." Here's another hard verse for me, because it's so very easy to pretend. I am an expert at it, in fact. But I'm not called to pretend, I'm called to show Christ's love, which was and is as far from pretend as it gets.

"How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony!" Psalm 133:1(NLT). How wonderful and pleasant. God wants us to live together, not just tollerating each other's presence, but loving those around us as he loved and loves absolutely every individual on this planet. As I write this, there are 6,797,272,191 people in the world. That number will be different in a few seconds probably, but my point is this: God loves each of those six billion people alive right now. He also has loved all the people who have ever lived, I don't even have an idea of how many that would be. Basically, A LOT. God has a whole lotta love, considering that he gives each individual unconditional and complete love regardless of their race, home, or personality. How does God give that love to those people? Well first, I think he gives it through his grace and protection. He also gives it through the flowers and the sun and this beautiful world he has provided for us. But most importantly, God gives his love through others. If someone never had a friend or a family, would they feel love? Maybe from some animals or something, but they would not get the full extent of Christ's love if people in the world did not display it. Johnny Depp was quoted as saying, "The only creatures that are evolved enough to convey pure love are dogs and infants." That's sad, but in the world sometimes it seems like it. We must change that, and it can only be changed if we take the initiative and love the unlovable, just as dogs and babies do. We are the ones whom God has chosen to carry his love to the unlovable in this world. What a huge responsibility, but also, what an incredible priviledge.

According to 1 John 4:12, "No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us." Love. Such a common and simple word. Yet it holds so much weight, so much meaning. Loving each other is the way that we can show God to the world. How is it that I so easily forget to do that? I want to be someone who loves the world without inhibition. Not just the people who are like me, but everyone, because everyone in this world needs love, no matter who they are.

Although many make fun of it, I am a hardcore One Tree Hill fan. Although it could be called a soap opera, I will always stand by my opinion that the writers put together many profound and beautiful thoughts. One of my favorite quotes says, "Love. The day that you start thinking that love is overrated is the day that you're wrong. The only thing wrong with love and faith and belief is not having it." True that. Love is so very vital to the world. But how will the world get it if we don't show it? That's the thing that makes love so special, it can't be manufactured. It must be given. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only son." So don't forget to give love to everyone, especially those who are hard to love, and when you do love, love like God does: love extravagantly.



*names are changed =]

Timing is Everything =]

"Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD." Psalm 27:14

It's funny how God works. They say that hindsight is 20-20, and when it comes to the way God works, that's almost true. Even looking back, I can't always tell how God worked, but I can definitely tell that He was there. Whether I'm looking back several years, or just earlier in the morning, it's nearly impossible to miss God's unmistakable fingerprints on our lives.

Monday morning I woke up with a groan, tired and soooo not looking forward to class. Suddenly, I realized that I hadn't woken up to my alarm. I grabbed my phone, dreading the time that I feared it was. Yep. I had overslept. I yelled and leaped out of bed with speed that is only present at such a time. Fifteen minutes later, I had somehow managed to get ready for psych on time, and before I left my room I just stopped. I don't know why I thought to pray in that moment, but I did. I simply asked God to give me a better day than how it had started. And you know what? I had one of the best Mondays I have had in a while.

That night, as I lay in my bed waiting to fall asleep, I thought back over my day. I realized that it was certainly no coincidence that I had had a great day that monday. I had been tired, and c'mon-it's a monday! Who likes mondays!? No one, at least no one who also claims sanity. But, despite my strong dislike of mondays, I had a great day! I would be stupid not to credit this to God. How much better could life be if I remembered to invite God to be a part of everyday, not just the ones that start out badly? I think that Monday was God showing me how much better life is with Him.

So it was a great Monday, but what about the days that are just plain lame? They're bound to come, so how can I get through those? I can think of no better method than through my Creator. Isaiah 40:29-31 says, "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." There's my answer. God is the one who can take my sucky days and give me strength and vigor to face that day, and all the ones after it.

When I played Bible Bowl, Bill constantly told me, and other players, to play one game at a time. In the same way, football, basketball and other sports teams get in trouble when they look too far ahead to the "big game" and forget about the underdog. We all know that story. But it's hard to play one game at a time. It's difficult to focus on the here and now, what is going on today. It's so much easier to look past the struggles of today for that time that we "can't wait" for. While there is nothing wrong with looking ahead, planning, and preparing, we must not forget today and all the incredible opportunities God has placed before us today. Psalm 27:14 says, "Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD." When we wait for the Lord's timing, that's when he can take our Mondays and turn them into good days, rather than just another day to get past.

I, like anyone, say "I can't wait for......" a lot. Usually it's just used as a common phrase used to show excitement, anticipation, etc., but I need to be careful to remember that God's timing is the absolute best in the world. All the planning and scheduling I can do cannot compare to God's perfect timing, and he doesn't even need a blackberry to keep it all straight! Earlier in Isaiah 40, verse 28 says, "Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom." God doesn't get tired, and we can't begin to understand everything that He does. Wow, why do I even try to keep my life straight?

When we wait on "the everlasting God," we allow for his perfect timing to take effect. When we give up our schedules and to-do lists, and ask God to make our day a success on his terms, we let Him work in our lives in incredible ways. As one who loves to make lists, asking God to make my day successful based on His plan for my life is quite a task. It doesn't mean that I don't do anything that day, rather, it means that I want God to work through me that day on His schedule. And when God has control of my day and I want to live that day on his terms, it is going to be a prosperous, fulfilling, and successful day. I may not get all my tasks done, but I might get to talk to an old friend. I might not get as much tv time, but I might get something meaningful written on here. Whatever it is, God can take my days and make them all awesome, if I can trust Him to make it what He wants it to be. Haven't you heard? He's the Creator of the earth! He alone can give me strength to face everyday, all the way to Sunday.

Isaiah 40:28-"Don't you know anything? Haven't you been listening? God doesn't come and go. God lasts. He's Creator of all you can see or imagine. He doesn't get tired out, doesn't pause to catch his breath. And he knows everything, inside and out."