love

I think we all have the ability to change the world in one way or another, each and everyday. We have the ability to smile at someone who looks sad, to hug someone who is having a tough time, to send an email or an sms to someone who needs a friend, we have the ability to love – and yet we don’t. We get caught up in our day-to-day lives that we forget to stop and love.

I think its odd how people think that their only way of expressing “love” to people is through charities, and in giving money – yet we are all guilty of this right? I’ll be completely honest, I constantly find myself avoiding people and instantly judging the people around me, yet people say that i’m a really “friendly” person. Sure, in the perfect surroundings we’re all friendly people, but its when we are out of our comfort zones that our true loving nature is revealed.

At my school, there used to be a little motivational poster in every classroom, to remind us of little things we often forgot, i remember reading one during some class about being left out. Every time i was in that room, i read it because every word made me realise the reality of the statement. Funnily enough, i can’t remember the exact words of it, but it was something like – “the biggest diseases of our world are not cancer, or heart disease, but rather being forgotten, being left out, being unwanted, being unloved.” And it’s 100 percent true. Physical diseases are big in our world, but emotional diseases are so much bigger. In our daily lives, we come across thousands of people; in the shopping centre, at work, on the street, but how many of us actually stop concentrating on ourselves and look around at these people. How many of us have given them a flicker of hope simply through the way we love?

We talk about “being like Jesus” but we are so unbelievably far from that. I think that as Christians, sometimes we have this mind-set, that because we’ve given our lives to God, we’ve done it all. I mean as long as I’ve recieved what i need, theres no need to give right? Wrong. Completely wrong. In this selfish world we live in, we take, take, take but never give. It’s so funny how we forget to love, but without any hesitation we preach and preach over people.

Jesus taught us how to love. He came down to this filthy world we live in to teach us how to love, and inevitably show us just how much he loved us – by dying the most excruciating death for our salvation. However, through his death he wanted us to realise the intensity of his love, and somehow reciprocate it to those who are hurting. He chose us to share his love – what an awesome responsibility, and yet how many of us can honestly say we’ve taken it seriously?

One thing I struggle with, is remembering that God loves the person next to me just as much as he loves me. He doesn’t love them less, he doesn’t frown upon them – he LOVES them, just as much as he loves me. Wow. I honestly struggle with that, can anyone relate? I so often make judgements based on the way a certain person acts or dresses, but God loves that person. He loves them, and has chosen us to show them that love. When people are hurt, they hurt people, but God uses us as his tools to lead these broken people back to the one who first loved them. He has chosen us, to reveal his love to them.

It only takes one person to make an effort in someones life to see a transformation begin. We were all called to love. Every one of us can change the world simply by the way we love.

so far..

Man. God is pretty amazing hey?

This post is a little different to my other posts, because i feel the need to share some stuff that God has been doing in my life so far. I have so many emotions right now, like i want to jump up and shout and scream because God is doing some awesome things in my life. I’ve just got back from Harvest camp, and man, God seriously did some amazing things to me there. I have no idea where to start..

Have you ever felt like you were trapped by something? Like you were sort of hiding something from everyone, including yourself because you just didnt want to deal with it? It’s funny how God speaks to us. I was sitting in the 3rd row, next to a good friend of mine when the speaker said; “the only way you can grow is by bringing the crap from your life into the light and allowing God to set you free.” As soon as this statement was said, i felt this massive weight over my shoulders, the Holy Spirit was obviously trying to tell me something. I tried to not think about it, ignore it – cos i’ve TOTALLY dealt with that stuff yeh? NO. God was pressing into me cos he wants me to go further, and get rid of all the crap i chose not to deal with until now.

You hear stories and testimonies from people who all say the same thing; that things in their life stuffed up, because they didn’t deal with something God wanted them to deal with and just ignored it. They went on with life pretending nothing had happened because its too hard to deal with something now, so they would deal with it later. What happens when they deal with it? God rips into that stronghold in their life and mends the broken pieces of their life.

But why wait? Why wait til something actually goes wrong in your life to realise that you need to deal with something God clearly wants you to deal with now. Man. I think it’s awesome that God wants to use me. I am so thankful for the fact that i am only 18, and God is setting me free. He is breaking those strongholds in my life, so that i can live a life that is devoted to him.

Nothing is too big for God to forgive. Nothing is too big for God to repair. He is a God of the impossible and you know what, if he can set me free from all the stuff in my life, he can set you free too. All you need to do is say the word.

yellow

Have you ever listened to a song so many times that all of a sudden you see the lyrics in a new light? I was walking home from work a few days ago and had yellow by coldplay on the loudest volume on my ipod. Usually when i’m walking back from work, the music i listen to is just noise, and my head is usually in a different place, but on that day i was carefully examining every single word Chris Martin was singing – “Look at the stars, look how they shine for you” and all of a sudden, it wasn’t Chris Martin singing to me; it was Jesus.

It’s funny isn’t it, how something like a completely secular song can bring you closer to Christianity and Jesus than an hour long sermon or an intense worship song. I don’t know why, but theres something about these lyrics that bring me back to Jesus, when ever im starting to drift. Can anyone relate? Maybe not. I guess it’s different for everyone, but just think how amazing would it be, if every person that has ever listened to that song, heard it they way i did. Man, that would be awesome.

It’s cool how God can reveal himself to us in so many different ways, i guess in order for us to notice it, we need to know how he works in our lives. I used to always think that cos God did something for someone, it would happen the exact same way for me. But it doesn’t work like that, God doesn’t work like that. He likes to surprise us, keep us waiting, not cos he likes to put us through drama, but cos he wants us to grow, and learn. Yet so often people slide away because of this. They start to think that because things aren’t going their way its cos God hates them, that he doesn’t care or something crazy like that. If anything, he puts us through trials cos he loves us, and he wants us to go that one step further cos he knows we can, but we become afraid of his timing and his will that we just give up and instead of taking a step forward, we take ten steps back.

It’s hard sometimes to let go and let God, but when we do the changes that begin to happen in our lives are amazing. I know i’ve gone off on a tangent but seriously, find out how God works in your life, live by his timing and his word and see the changes start to happen.

Wanna know what God has done in my life? Ask me.