Sacrificially Loving

I love that our residents are getting involved and sharing some of their thoughts on the blog! Here’s another post by a resident about the well-known song “If we are the body” by Casting Crowns.

-Rachel

But if we are the body / Why aren’t His arms reaching? / Why aren’t His hands healing? / Why aren’t His words teaching? / And if we are the body / Why aren’t His feet going? / Why is His love not showing them there is a way? / There is a way.

Casting Crowns always does a fantastic job of portraying the true love of Jesus through the words of their music. This song above titled ”If We Are The Body” causes us believers to really ask ourselves some serious questions. Such as, if we are truly the body of Christ as we proclaim ourselves to be why aren’t we out there allowing His love to shine through us by the way we love and serve those around us? Why aren’t we leading others to Christ by the way we live our life? You never know when or how God is using your life to bring glory to Him.

In my personal life, sacrificial love has been shown to me through not only
Christ’s death which is pretty major, but also through complete unconditional love and patience by people He has placed in my life. This song influences me to sacrificially love others everyday by maybe making my roommate’s bed one morning or leaving an encouraging note for one of the other residents or holding the door open, or just simply saying a few kind words.  I know how desperately I need God and if there is a chance that the way I treat someone could bring them to know Christ….then why not sacrificially love?

-Resident 2013

 

What I appreciate about this resident’s perspective is her willingness. Each one of us can see in our own lives the unwillingness to serve. We have calculated anwers to the question “if we are the body, why aren’t His arms reaching.” Our answers often include excuses; such as being too tired, to0 busy, or too poor. Other excuses emphasis a perceieved lack of responsibility (i.e., someone else will do that, God wouldn’t call ME!). What this resident brings out, which is the very same thing God’s word brings out, is that EVERY single one of those who call themselves God’s children have been called to love and serve one another. John 13:34-35 says,

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.”

Here, Jesus is speaking to His disciples, urging them to be conduits: to allow His love to permeate them enough to actually flow out of them, into the lives of others.

I love how this resident provides small, practical examples of serving and sacrificially loving: an encouraging note, an act of service, a kind word. Love can be as simple as a note, as practical as making a bed, and as concise as a word spoken. In it’s simplicity, love is practical, and love is doable!

-Rachel

Rachel Bailey
I began my internship with Vision of Hope in January 2013. In my current understanding of God’s will for my life, I am pursuing wisdom and experience to one day work with women with eating disorders. My desire is to plant my feet in truth, while reaching my arms as far as I can toward the broken and hurting. With God’s help and guidance, I hope to become a godly woman and counselor to provide Truth-based counsel rather than “evidenced-based practice.” My life verse is Ecclesiastes 5:7 which says, “For in many dreams and in many words there is emptiness. Rather, fear God."