Love: Lost or Found

     About a week ago I asked God a question. It's not something that I'm proud to have asked, but it was on my mind. It went something like this, "God, do you really want me to be shameless and outspoken about loving your people?" The answer to that may seem like common sense, but let me explain my train of thought in that moment.
 
      I know that God instructs us to love all people at all times, good and bad. But do we have to be so open about that? For example, when there is a friend, family member or co-worker who is going down the wrong path, it is a definite that we should keep loving, caring and praying for them. But what about when that person doesn't even want your care? And what if that person does something really bad? Can't I just keep loving and praying for them secretly? Do I have to be so open about it and risk being rejected, humiliated or even judged by some people? I can't tell you how many times I've been asked, "Why do you even care about them? They clearly don't care about you so just forget them." And though I know that is really bad advice, I have almost let myself be influenced by it. After hearing that so many times I thought that maybe I should just keep quiet about my concern. Maybe I'll keep praying for them and keep loving them in my heart...but I don't have to be so conspicuous about it. But God's answer to me on this question was yes. Yes, I do want you to be shameless in loving people, even the ones that reject you. Because you are only loving them through Me, and my love is the gospel to be proclaimed.

     God answered my question with a yes, but He hasn't stopped there. Over the past few days He has been consistently showing me why He expects me to be so open about loving people. Through reading the Bible, listening to sermons and hearing the words of other people, a specific passage of scripture has stuck out in my mind.

    In Luke 15 Jesus is reprimanded by the Pharisees for hanging out with sinners. Jesus responds by telling them three stories. The first is about the lost sheep, the next of the lost coin and at last the story of the prodigal son. He begins by saying that any shepherd with a hundred sheep, who had lost one, would leave the ninety-nine and go after the one that is lost until he finds it. And a woman, who owns ten coins and loses one, will search her entire house diligently until he finds it. And lastly, the story of a man with two sons. The youngest who tells his father he wants to leave and receive his inheritance now.
 
    So Jesus is telling the story and it goes like this. The son says to his father, "I'm going off and I'm gonna do my own thing. It's gonna be fun, it's gonna be better, I'm gonna be able to handle this on my own." So the son gets his inheritance, he goes to the city and he thinks he's good. He's got enough money, he's got connections, he thinks he's got friends and he has it all figured out. The son knows that with his father his life is taken care of. He knows that his father has never failed to provide for his every need but he just can't help but think that he's missing out on something. He knows that his father gives him everything and he even has his future entirely planned out and taken care of for him but the son doubts his father. He doubts that his father is really letting him live and experience all that  he needs to.  So the son leaves and for a while he has everything he wants. His friends are showing him all the best places to go and the most popular people to meet and coolest stuff to buy. But after a while he isn't able to keep it up. Because it turns out that the new, exciting, better things he thought he wanted, just aren't satisfactory anymore. And all his friends and connections and awesome people that he thought he had just aren't really there for him. They were there to tell him what to buy and where to go and how to get attention..but they didn't really care about him. When he was spending all his money they didn't stop to ask him if he really needed to buy something new. They weren't there to ask him or talk to him about why he left his family. They never told him that he might not actually need all the stuff and the parties and the attention. They didn't care. And now the son thinks he doesn't have anything so he's alone and he's hungry and he's needy. But then he remembers his father. And he thinks about all the workers his father has and how well they are taken care of. So he starts to make his way back home thinking that maybe if he begged and pleaded, that he could work to earn his father's provision. He thinks surely my father does not love me, he will not call me son but just maybe I can earn his provision. But before the son can even make it back home, here comes his father. And he's surprised because he doesn't know how his father knew he was coming and he doesn't understand why he is welcoming him back home. But what the son doesn't realize is that the father never really let him go. He never stopped hoping and waiting and watching for the day that his son would come back home. Because that was his son. And no matter how far he went the father never stopped watching for him. Nothing he could have done was ever going to change the fact that he was his son. The father doesn't even let his son give an explanation. He doesn't wait until his son gets on his knees and apologizes and begs to come back home. He doesn't make his son profess his love and admit he was wrong. He welcomes him and celebrates and rejoices his son who has made it back home.

     As Jesus tells these stories of course He is referencing the love of His father. A love that comes with the promise that He will never leave us. A love that goes out after one tiny, runaway lamb. A love that will search for one, lost, worthless little coin. And a love that will always welcome home the undeserving, rebellious son. And then He celebrates us with His love.

    And these parables that represent the shameless, unconditional, overwhelming love of God are my answer. This is why I cannot be ashamed of loving people regardless of background or struggles or rejection or humiliation. Because not for one second has God been reluctant to proclaim His love for me and for us. And He even knows every time I will ever abandon Him and doubt Him and rebel. And yet the very essence of His being is how much He loves me. His book tells story after story after story about His love for me. And every single day He pursues and reveals that love to me.

   So not only are each of us lost with the hope of our father who saves us and welcomes us and rejoices over us. But with Him we have the strength to love people around us like that. To diligently pray and care and wait for them to return home. Because we have never gone too far and we have never done too much that the love our Father has for us cannot be celebrated.

 

Happy New Year

   For those who are in the academic arena, the calendar is marked twice with the title "new year." Once of course, on January 1st and another time its scribbled down on a square somewhere in August. Parents everywhere are feeling mixed emotions about the start of the academic calendar. On one hand, I imagine many parents are heaving a sigh of relief while simultaneously feeling disbelief that their child is already starting first grade, or perhaps taking a picture of their child's "last first day of school." And the students, well they're either whining about how summer is over and homework has begun or they are part of the small minority of kids who actually get excited about going back to school. Regardless of what stage it is, the feelings are bittersweet.
 

   
      For high schoolers and college age students, there's usually a very common thought process that occurs during the coming days of a new school year. It goes something like this... "This is the year that I make all As." or maybe a smaller goal like, "This year I am not procrastinating anything." Sometimes we even buy a calendar/organizer and for the first few weeks right down all of our assignments and check them off as we finish. But for most of us, the vigorous spirit of "new school year, new me" is unfortunately short lived.
 
    I can think of several excuses that I've had in the past for why my diligence so quickly deteriorated. But if I am honest, it all comes down to one thing. I stopped caring. And regrettably, I am only one of thousands of students who do the same thing. This past school year however, was different for me. Last fall I transferred from Georgia Regents University to Southeastern Seminary in Wake Forest, NC. During my freshman year at GRU I put in mediocre effort to my school work. When I transferred to Southeastern, something just hit me. I knew that the expense of going to Southeastern is nearly 5 times that of what my first year of college was. I also knew this meant more sacrifices that my family would have to make. So I made a new year's resolution that I would not take that fact for granted. I did not finish the school year with a 4.0 but I can honestly say that I worked hard in every class and did my best not to settle for sub par efforts. Not only have I learned more this past school year than any other, but I took full advantage of an opportunity that the majority of the people in this world do not even get to have.

    Recently I watched a documentary on Netflix called,"On the Way to School." (I highly recommend watching it.)  The documentary follows four sets of children from different countries and their journeys to school. A brother and sister from Africa who have a two hour walk to school every morning while simultaneously running and hiding from elephant stampedes. The film also follows three brothers in India ages 8 and younger who have an hour and a half journey to school, while pushing one of their brothers in a broken wheelchair. Needless to say, the film only solidified a fact that I already know to be true: education is a privilege and should not to be taken for granted.

     Whether you are still in high school or are in college, please stop for a moment to realize this fact. Although in the states we are privileged to have lower education as a right, many children in the world do not. And if they do, they sacrifice very much to make it a possibility. For those of us pursuing college, realize that this is an opportunity that even many people in America do not get. In other words, going to college and having it paid for by your parents is not their obligation or assumed responsibility. It is a gift. For the students young and old who are paying for college on your own, you are commended.
 
     I only say this because I have realized myself,  how long I have taken these things for granted. Although I have been on somewhat of a rant I actually mean this as an encouragement and motivation to work hard in school since you have the opportunity. And if you have chosen to go to college, take full advantage of the knowledge and resources being offered to you. So for all students, I hope your "new school year resolutions" are successful. And Happy New Year!