God’s love.
I'm reminded of a personal story and i'm going to share it today. Just like i wrote up there in big bold letters.. God's Love. It’s something everyone thinks
about at least once. We sing songs about God’s love all the time, we tell him
how thankful we are that he loves us, but some people only go as far as that.
They don’t pursue his love and they never really believe he loves them on a
personal level, to them it’s no more than a song in that very moment. It wasn’t
till one of this past summer’s outreaches that I participated in till I truly got the realization of how God
really does love me. It became real, not just a song that I sang on Sunday
mornings.
It was a Saturday afternoon, an unusual time
for us to do an outreach, but the need was there and so we met it. We packed
things up, hopped on the bus and off we went. Because it was Saturday, a lot of
the people who regularly helped and attended these outreaches were working or had other prior commitments and that left us with
very few to do the outreach. In my head, even though I had nothing to do that
Saturday, I didn’t want to spend my day doing an outreach, but I went anyway.
My attitude already going into it was crappy, and that was the wrong attitude
to have. My motive was off, because at the time my focus of “God loves me” was
all about me. Well..WRONG.
We pulled up to where we were doing the
outreach and started to set up. On this particular day it was hot, humid, and
windy. The sky looked overcast. We all got our little assignments from our leader as
what we were to do, and I was to work the face painting station.
“Really”… is
what I thought, “I can’t paint or draw anything to save my life!”
Out of all
the things, why was I placed to do that? Once again my focus was still on me,
but God wasn’t finished with me yet. He’s just funny like that. So as I started
to set up the paints, water, and everything else needed, the kids started
coming. One by one they would come stand in line, their faces lighting up
to know someone would want to draw a little heart or sword on their face. To
them it meant the world, to me it seemed little and petty. No big deal, I
wasn’t a great drawer or painter, so why’d it matter anyways? But it did. As
each child approached my part of the station my heart started to soften, but it
wasn’t then I realized He was softening me.
Time had passed and most of the kids had
already gotten their face painted so they were checking everything else out. As
I sat and watched the pure joy right before me, my focus slowly started
shifting and everything else I had been thinking earlier in the day slowly
slipped out of sight. As I was watching things unfold in front of me someone
came to me and asked if they could paint a heart on my face, I of course said
sure, not thinking anything too big of it. Right as they finished, it began to
rain… And not just rain, but pour. Of course right, why wouldn’t it just down
pour right then and there?
I was reminded- “For you brethren, have been
called to freedom; only do not use freedom as an opportunity for the flesh but
through LOVE to SERVE ONE ANOTHER.” –Galatians 5:13
It wasn’t about me. And little did I know
that the storm that came and soaked us all was a big part of the story God was
trying to show me. As it was raining God was painting a picture of his love
towards me and what it really means. His love is so big, like an ocean, but He
didn’t die on the cross and pour out his love for only me. He loves me so much
that he gave me the ability to love and serve others like He did. He’s given me
the ability to love others unconditionally. God’s kingdom isn’t a picture of me
or you, it’s a picture of him. We all seem to have these, ME attitudes. How
it’s all about me, and I was guilty of that. Serving others and consistently
putting everyone before himself was what Jesus did. His love for the people who
were completely undeserving was unconditional, and that’s how we are to be. My
focus, my perspective on God’s love, and my attitude changed that day. It’s not
about me, it’s about others. It’s about loving them the way Jesus did.
That rainstorm also showed me one other
thing about His love. After already feeling completely grateful and overwhelmed
with what God had showed me, through all the chaos and mess, the down pouring
rain that soaked me completely, I went home and looked in the mirror. When I
looked in that mirror, there’s only one thing I saw, that little heart that was
painted on my face. UNTOUCHED. Not even smeared. Still there whole and perfect.
And that is what it was all about. God showed me that He loved me so much, He
cared enough to correct me when I was wrong. His love is unfathomable. He
showed me that no matter what storm you face, no matter where you’ve been or
came from, there is nothing that can take his love for you away. He is there
through it all, He doesn’t change, He doesn’t move. He is unfailing.
Who would have thought that me working a
face painting booth would have given me the realization of God’s love, but it
did. Somehow that little heart made it through all the storms and disaster, but
it’s just like Gods love, it never runs out. That outreach is a day I will
never forget, and I am forever thankful. Thank you Jesus. You overwhelm me.
“Your love never fails, it never GIVES UP,
it NEVER runs out on me…”
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