I got out of bed this morning
and did what I usually do: made a to-do
list. Sometimes it’s mentally composed;
sometimes I scrawl it down. Either way,
compiling the assortment of tasks I need to
accomplish has become an imperative
part of my day. There is so much to get
done! And honestly, sometimes things get
so crazy that my list is the only thing
keeping me on track. Maybe you can
identify? In the rush of living, there are
endless deadlines, responsibilities, and
needs to be met. I don’t know if there is
ever a time when we are not working to
meet a goal—whether it’s scrubbing toilets,
filling out lesson plans, planning dinner, or
holding down the office chair at work.
There is nothing wrong with lists. Some
days, I live by them. However, there are
days when, in my hurry to eliminate the
towering index of daily duties, something
dangerous sneaks onto the to-do list: love.
You see sometimes, as I’m scurrying
around meeting deadlines and knocking
out the cleaning, I remember that I’m
Do we reach out to
others because our
hearts are spilling over
with love for them,
or because we want
to cross another
project off the list?
supposed to be caring for people, too. I’m
sorry to say that at times the realization
sounds like this in my head, “Sigh. I have to
fit THAT in today too?!” It’s all too easy to
add “loving people” to the daily quota of
duties. And though I don’t literally write,
“love someone today” on the list, things
like this have been known to appear:
-take a hot meal to the neighbor who
just lost her son in an accident
-write a note of encouragement to
my friend struggling with depression
-volunteer at the homeless shelter
-take my little brother out for lunch
-do something
boyfriends’ day
to
brighten
my
“What’s wrong with those things?” You
may ask. The answer is, nothing. However,
in and of themselves, they are incomplete.
Do we reach out to others because our
hearts are spilling over with love for them—
or because we want to cross another
project off the list? I’ve come to realize
that unless my love for others wells from an
involuntary response to Jesus’ love for me,
the nice things I do will just be…well, nice.
My actions, even if sincere, will fall short.
Ask yourself: What sets my love apart?
Thousands and thousands of nonbelievers
are caring and kind. Anybody can take a
hot meal to the neighbor to express
concern. What makes my acts of kindness,
as a Christian, different from those of a
non-believer?
Ladies, as the redeemed children of God,
we should be setting the highest standard
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