Being the Hands and Feet of Jesus in the World
“Being the hands and feet of Jesus” is a call to action, urging believers to live out their faith in practical, tangible ways that reflect God’s love and compassion for humanity.
Blessed Are Those Who Mourn
Jesus encourages us to love with real openness and honesty, but such love also brings great vulnerability. By loving and living in a way that we mourn deeply, we open ourselves up to incredible heartache, trouble, and hurt. But! We also draw closer to Jesus, and, with Him, there is potential for great joy because Jesus has overcome the world. (See John 16:33.) In other words, the risk of grief or mourning can be overwhelming. It is not easy to love people to a point where we mourn over hardship and loss. But, through it, God promises life-changing joy if we are willing to take the chance.
The Love that Moves the Stars
The month of February turns many minds to the idea of love. The feast of St. Valentine, who was said to perform secret Christian weddings under Roman persecution, influences our cultural celebration of romantic love. This is much like St. Nicholas, the generous Bishop of Myra, who shapes our cultural celebration of Christmas. But behind both holidays and both saints stands the deep Christian theology of a God of love who gives and loves out of his infinite abundance.
Loving with a Heart Undivided
As I have worked to encourage Christ followers to show and share the love of Jesus with those around them, at certain points I always try to steer the conversation to the topic of trust. I do that because we Christians talk a good game – especially about love. Jesus taught that we are to love not just our neighbors, but our enemies as well. Paul devoted an entire chapter of his letter to the church in Corinth to teaching about love and said that only three things would remain: faith, hope, and love, but the greatest was love.
Empathy vs Sympathy
Sympathy allows us to say/know the right thing about a situation and then do nothing- or even worse, make decisions that worsen the situation- all the while, keeping struggles at arm’s length.