The Kind of Love We Need

December 4, 2019

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3:16-18

I promise, there will come a day when you will need help, and you will be in poverty. I will be too. Maybe not physical poverty, but need and poverty take many different forms. Maybe you’ll experience relational, emotional, or spiritual poverty. We might have a wandering child, suffer through a miscarriage, experience a death. We’ll be struggling with our faith or hit with a sudden change in circumstances. Our finances will take a dive. Someone we want and need won’t want to be with us anymore. We’ll feel so drained by life that we can’t survive without some comfort, guidance, support, and relief.

And when that moment comes, we don’t want to beg. We don’t want to receive simple pity. We don’t want to be someone’s project. We just want to be loved. We want someone to see our needs instead of being judgmental or stingy. I remember a young woman who was so broken and needy that my mother invited her to live with us for a while. Mom’s heart was so big I used to accuse her of being the human stray-cat collector. That statement highlighted the difference between the state of her heart and my teenage heart. I remember Helen saying to her, “Mom, please don’t love me because you are a Christian and you have to. Love me like I came out of your belly.” Wow. Isn’t that what we all want? Love that comes without obligation because it is a natural response. 

Is there someone around you who is broken right now? Who is in poverty? The entire world is our space of opportunity to be Jesus. Whoever God puts in your line of sight, whoever is on your heart, know that God has already given you something to give them. Be generous, be open, be bold, and trust. He will use what you have to meet their needs and show the real, authentic, and essential love of the Father.

• Who comes to your heart and mind this morning? What need does God keep bringing to mind? Pray for the situation, of course, but remember, God says love is not just words and speech. It is action and truth. What action can you take this season to meet the needs of the situation God has put on your heart?