What the world needs now is love sweet love, / It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of. / What the world needs now is love sweet love, / No not just for some but for everyone.… (Dionne Warwick)
Who else remembers this song? I used to go around singing it all the time. Today, it applies even more than ever. If you turn on the TV, radio, internet, or whatever your choice might be, it all seems to be tragic or heartbreaking news of some kind. Hate and prejudice seems to prevail. So, what are we to do? After all, we are each just one person, right? Surely, there is someone more qualified than me to do something?? Is that really true though? Granted, there are different talents/gift and personalities that suit certain purposes better, but one thing we can all do and all are CALLED to do is LOVE. Will we solve the world’s problems by loving others? Probably not, but we might help someone get through a very bad day. We might let someone who feels very unlovable or thinks they have no reason to go on, know someone cares about them after all. I was told once, by a very wise man, that maybe not everyone he hugged (and he hugged them all!) appreciated it, but if he hugged just one, just ONE person, who felt alone, betrayed, depressed or maybe just hadn’t had anyone make the effort to hug them, then every hug was worth it to get to that one.
We are called to love. Maybe we won’t change the world, but we might change one life, and that will always be worth it.
Pray Unceasingly!
In His light,
Lois
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By Rick Warren — May 29, 2015 |
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“Make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.” (Philippians 2:2 NLT, second edition) There’s only one way you can serve God: by serving other people. Whenever you use your talents, time, energy, and resources to help other people, that’s called ministry. But God doesn’t want you to minister alone! Philippians 2:2 says, “Make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose” (NLT, second edition). Why does God require this? Why can’t you just serve God on your own? Because we’re family. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 3:9, “We are co-workers in God’s service” (NIV). If you’re in God’s family, God wants you to get along with the other family members. In fact, God is more interested in the relationships you build during service together than he is in the service that you do. He wants you to learn to get along with the family of God. Because we need each other. We need each other to serve. Nobody has all the talents. Nobody has all the gifts. God did it that way intentionally so that you would need me and I would need you and we would need each other. “Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of [Christ’s] body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn’t amount to much, would we?” (Romans 12:5 MSG) Because we get more done. Ecclesiastes 4:9 says, “Two are better off than one, because together they can work more effectively” (GNT). Teamwork multiplies effectiveness. God wants to use you in ways you’ve never expected. You may say, “What do I have to offer?” You have something, but you don’t have enough on your own. That’s why you need other people in your life. God wants to use you, but he also wants to use you in a team where you help each other out. God wired us so that we feel most alive when we’re part of a team that’s accomplishing something for God’s Kingdom. Teams cause us to get closer to each other, to get more done, and to have more fun. The fastest way to get have your small group grow closer to each other is by serving together. When you get together for an eternal purpose, it builds an unstoppable team that can accomplish great things for God. |