Is Your Life Precious?

Yesterday, I spent the day by the bedside of my dear sweet grandmother as her life is drawing to a close. My grandmother led a life that followed the two greatest commandments, to love God and others with your whole heart. She loved out loud and lavishly. Come and take a glimpse inside this room with me. As we look around we can see family and friends holding hands in prayer. We see songs like "How Great Thou Art", "Amazing Grace", and "What A Day That Will Be" being sung as we all await her home going. We are blessed to be here. We hear stories of the night before of her singing with lifted hands and saying she just wants to be with her Jesus. If we step back a little father we can see the most awesome thing of all, look around, there is a room, a hallway, a cafe, and living area (about 40 in all) full of family and close friends who dropped everything in their lives to be here for as much time as possible. She is genuinely loved because she loved genuinely. The stories have poured forth of her love and care for others even from her hospital bed. One of her last hopes and concerns is that all of her family and friends be saved so we can all be together again in heaven. Looking at this scene, I realized, as I hope you do too, that this is love in action. This is what being Jesus to others is. It is a simple card or phone call when there is a need. It is inviting those who have no place to go, to share in your families holiday celebrations. It is caring about others when they talk and being able to share wisdom with kindness. It is following the Holy Spirit's leading when He tells you to do something no matter how small you think it is. A scripture comes to me today, Psalm 116:15 says "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." Precious meaning valuable, honorable, rare or prized. All good words to describe my grandmother's life. I want this is to be said of me. Can this be said of you? Do something small for someone today, you never know what a BIG difference it can make.
Proverbs 31:25,26,28,30 "Strength and honor are her clothing and she shall rejoice in time to come. She opened her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. Her children arise and call her blessed. A woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised."

Learning to Love

Sometimes I just hate when a song gets stuck in my head, especially if it is a song I did not care for in the first place, but lately, the words to the song "Follow You" by the Christian band Leeland keep going through my head. "I'll follow you into the homes that are broken, Follow you into the world." As I continue to ponder on the words, I began to turn them into a cry to God. My hearts desire is for God to use me to minister to others leading me into places where I can see his power transform broken lives.
God has also brought me to think on the verse in I Timothy, "Give me charity out of a pure heart". I struggle, as I am sure you do as well, with loving others without wrong motives. I prejudge others as worthy or unworthy without even totally knowing what I am doing. Why can't I love others like my three year old does? When he sees someone he does not know, he instantly says "Hey", a greeting filled with acceptance. I long to have this pure attitude towards others but at the end of the day, I feel more like Paul when he says the things I want to do, I don't and the things I don't want to do, I do.
It is when these two thoughts collided that God said to me, How can you go into the homes of the broken to minister change if your heart is not full of pure love and acceptance? Jesus is our example, he did not condemn the women at the well or the women that was about to be stoned for her sexual sins. He looked on them with love and acceptance, knowing fully all of their sins. O Father, fill me with your spirit's power to love as you love, to see others as you see, to approach people with acceptance like a child. Help me see others' pain. Help me have courage to grab a hold of them and lead them to you. I challenge you this Sunday look around you and find someone who is hurting and lead them to the alter to pray with a spirit of love and acceptance.
I Peter 1:22 -"Seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned (genuine) love of the brethren, see that you love one another with a pure heart fervently."
I Timothy 1:5 -"Now the end (goal) of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned."
See also John 4 and John 8.