Thought of the Day !!

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
John 15:12 (NIV)

Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.
Mark 10:43-44 (NIV)

From the book unchristian by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons:


"She hands me her last razor blade, tells me it is the one she used to cut her arm and to prepare her last lines of cocaine. It hits me to wonder if this great feeling is what Christ knows when we surrender our broken hearts, when we trade death for life. We are only asked to love, to offer hope to the many hopeless. We don't get to choose all the endings but we are asked to play the rescuers. We won't solve all mysteries, and our hearts will certainly break in such a vulnerable life, but it is the best way. We are made to be lovers, bold in broken places, pouring ourselves out again and again until we're called home."


This really makes me think about what it means to serve. "She" is Renee, a 19 year old who has finally relented to find help after trying to commit suicide. She is a loner and a person who has been hurting. There are all sorts of Renee's out there around you whether you know it or not. They might be young or old, male or female, black, white or any other color under the rainbow.

You might be able to recognize them as people who are hurting. You might not. But believe me, they're there. And they need you. And they need me. We are called to reach out to people who are hurting in this world and show them the kind of unconditional love that only one who knows Christ can show.

There have been 2 suicides in my community in the last couple of weeks. I wonder how many have contemplated it here in my area. I wonder how many have contemplated it in yours. We all might be surprised. Think about it. How many times have you felt alone or betrayed? Have you ever felt like things just weren't working out in your life? If so, you evidently were strong enough to deal with what was going on in your life. And hopefully you depend on Christ to help you through the dark valleys, for He's the only one that can fully see us through everything.

But many out there don't have that strength. They are hurting. They are dying. It's up to us to care...to care enough to pay close attention to people's cries for help. They may be spoken softly, so we must listen closely. It's then up to us to pray and be there for them. Let us all learn how to love others like Christ loved people when he walked this earth so that they will come to trust us enough to allow us to show them that somebody does care and that they don't have to go through life alone.

In the love of Christ,
greg