Psalm 63:1 “O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” Today's episode is about how important it is to love people right where they are. People will be more open to listen to what you have to say if they feel loved and accepted. Music:"Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Be Bold & Start With Love
Psalm 63:1 “O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”
When I read this verse, I thought it did a great job explaining our yearning for God. We all need God in our lives. We are desperate to have him in our lives. This verse shows this in a way I don’t think I could. It also helps me realize how much I need God. Have you ever read something and then realized that was exactly how you felt, and you didn’t really know it before you read it? I knew I loved God, and I knew I longed for God. However, I couldn’t describe it until I read this verse. My soul thirsts for Him. My flesh faints for Him as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. There is no water if God is not in my life. My life is a dry and weary land when I don’t call upon God.
Carrie Underwood has a song called “What I Never Knew I Always Wanted.” I have not heard this song before and yet I found it today while looking up something. This song was not written about Jesus. I believe it was written about her child, judging from the other words. However, the chorus speaks to how many of us feel about Jesus. The chorus says:
I finally found what I never knew I always wanted
I couldn't see; I was blind 'til my eyes were opened
I didn't know there was a hole
Something missing in my soul
'Til you filled it up with your love
I think so many people are walking around this world right now, and they don’t know God is what they have always wanted. They know they have a hole; they know something is missing in their soul, and yet they don’t know what it is. I like the line; I couldn’t see; I was blind ’til my eyes were opened. How can we help them open their eyes? The next line in this chorus might be giving us the answer to that very question. I didn’t know there was a hole, something missing in my soul, ‘till you filled it up with your love. What if we worked on filling people up with love? What if we showed people so much love that they realized that it was what they had been missing in their lives?
We can’t fill them up with our love, though. Our love is broken and judgmental. Our love is not perfect love; it is flawed, and it can hurt others, even when we don’t want to. However, if we filled them up with God’s Love, the love of Jesus, they would feel an unconditional love that would fill the hole in their soul. I know you are already asking yourself, how do I do that? How do I love with Jesus’ love and not my own love? I know you are asking this because I am asking this, too. We are all called to be a reflection of Jesus. We are called to love like He loved. How did Jesus love? We can’t be expected to love like Jesus if we don’t know how He loved. The best way to know this is to look back at scripture.
Jesus Christ set a perfect example of kindness and love. Throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus showed His love for others by blessing and serving the poor, the sick, and the distressed. Jesus did not run away from the leapers as most people did at the time. He touched them, and He healed them. He did not turn away anyone who needed help. How can we show Jesus’ love to others like this? How can we bless and serve the poor, the sick, and the distressed? Some people listening to this can go out and volunteer at a soup kitchen or a food pantry. Maybe you would rather volunteer at a hospital or somewhere you can help out with people who are sick. Maybe you would like to be a hospice volunteer and sit with those that are dying and have no one to be with them. However, others are listening, and you are thinking your days of helping the poor or the sick are over because you can’t get out of the house to volunteer anywhere. I assure you, your days of helping are not over. They have just changed. Now, instead of going and doing the volunteer work by hand, you can pray for those in need, and you can pray for people to answer God’s call to go and help. St. Terese of Lisieux is the patron saint of missions, even though she was never healthy enough to go on one. She didn’t let her health stop her from praying for everyone who could go on missions.
Jesus also showed his love for others by not making people feel bad for their actions or who they were. God didn’t condemn the tax collectors or the Roman soldiers. He didn’t condemn the woman who was caught in adultery or the woman at the well who had been married several times and was living with a man she was not married to. In the beginning, the Love Jesus had for everyone brought people to Christianity. People found a love they had not known before when they found Jesus. They were used to rules and judgment. They were used to following God, which required so much of them. They found this new religion fascinating. A religion where God just wanted to love you and to be loved. He did not require much on your part. People could come as they were. They were not expected to be perfect because Jesus set the bar when he said in Mark 2:17, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”
The apostles were not going out and only talking to the Jewish people who knew God and were already following the laws. They were talking to everyone who would listen, and they were preaching about God’s love. Who doesn’t want to be loved? Who doesn't want to be accepted? I think we have lost this idea of talking about God’s love somewhere along the way. Somewhere along the way, we started talking more about the legalistic side of Christianity, especially Catholicism, than we do about the love Jesus had for everyone. Yes, there is a right and a wrong way to live. God tells us what the right and wrong way is in His Scripture. However, we will never get a chance to show people the benefit of living God’s way if we don’t start loving them right where they are at first. People want to be accepted for who they are and they want to be met where they are at. Jesus didn’t tell the tax collectors He would have dinner with them when they changed their life style. He loved them while they were sinners and told them He had so much more for them.
If people feel loved and accepted, they will be open to hearing what you have to say. We want people to know all the things Jesus says. We want people to live according to God’s ways, and we want this because we care about their souls. This is a great thing. I am not saying we are wrong to care about the way people are living their lives. I am saying if we want to save their soul, we need to start with loving them just as they are. The way to get people to want to save their own souls, which is the only way anything will change, is by being a reflection of God’s love. Love them as Jesus does. Love them in all their imperfections and all their messiness of life. Do not continually tell them they need to change who they are, shower them with so much love, tell them about Jesus and how much He loves them, just as they are, and pray for them. Your prayers will do so much more than your nagging will. If people feel judged, they will not ask questions, they will not be open to hearing anything we have to say. I believe what God needs most from us is not us judging others and trying to talk them into changing their behaviors. What He needs most from us is our loving others like Jesus did. He needs us to love them so much they ask themselves, “How can I love as much as that person does? How can I love so unconditionally? How can I be so accepting of people? How can I love so freely?” When they ask those questions, then they will be open to hearing about the Gospel and about a God who loves them completely. Can we do that? Can we love others like Jesus did? Can we lead with love first?
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord we long for you just as the verse says. Our souls thirst for you as one would thirst for water in a dry land. Lord, we love you and we want to bring others into a personal relationship with you. Help us do this. Please help us to understand how to love others like you did. Show us where in our lives we are falling short of this Lord. Give us the strength to hold our tongue and to not nag our loved ones to do what we want them to do. We are coming from a loving place Lord, we want to save their souls. Yet we know you are the only one to do that Lord. Help us to learn to say less to the person and pray more to you. Help us to truly turn them over to your loving care Lord. You care more about their souls than we ever could. Help us Lord, we are trying. We are so grateful for all you do. You give light to our lamps and you brighten the darkness about us. You are the word of God, and you are the word of life. We love you Lord and we ask all of this in accordance with you will and in Jesus holy name, Amen.
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I look forward to spending time with you tomorrow. Have a blessed day!
Today’s Word from the Lord was received in September 2024 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “Do not forget my children. I bid you come closer, ever closer. I promise you, I wait for you. I am everywhere. You needn't look far. I am in your smile, a kind word, a sacrifice of any kind, if needed, guiding you as to where you should go.”