Active Theology

“We love because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19, ESV)

Some of my favorite conversations with my 4 year old daughter, Elsie, happen in the car. Not too long ago we were leaving an event together and Elsie tripped on the way to our van. I was already at the van door putting something inside and went back to help her where she had tripped near the sidewalk.

She was physically fine, but she was quite perplexed because a young woman leaving the same event as us had walked right by her after she tripped and didn’t say a word. She asked me “Mommy, why didn’t that girl help me up?”

I was honestly wondering the same thing. I shared with Elsie that the woman definitely should have helped her up, but maybe she was just having a hard day. Then we talked about the Good Samaritan and about our call as Christians to be kind and show love to our neighbor.

Luke 10:25-37 tells us the parable of the Good Samaritan. If you have never read it before (or even if you have), I highly encourage you to read it this week. 

The following is my Cliff’s Notes version:

-A man is badly hurt by the road (beaten by robbers, half-dead kind of hurt). 

-Two men walk by, whom you would assume help, yet they don’t. 

-The most (seemingly) unlikely person to help walks by and helps the man, and he truly goes above and beyond in his help.

Sometimes in life you may feel like the hero (the “Good Samaritan”) that helps the man- and other times it may feel like you’re the man lying beaten on the side of the road, who no one seems to care much about. No matter where you feel you lie on that spectrum, God loves you so incredibly much. God IS love. Romans 8:39 says, “neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” He demonstrated his love for us with the sacrifice of His own blameless son. God’s steadfast love for us knows no end.

A lot of times when my kids see someone acting unloving, I say that they may not have the love of God in their hearts.  Because the love of God changes us. The Holy Spirit empowers us to love others. Even when we ourselves feel hurt and unseen, God can still use us to show His steadfast love to others.

I remember when I was in college and feeling alone and in need of encouragement, I would try to remind myself that there are so many others who feel the same way. So instead of sitting in my discouragement, I would seek to try to encourage someone else. Now did I do this perfectly? Of course not. But I still strive to do this today, fueled by my love for God.

I was once texting a friend that was struggling with anxiety, and I sent a text back saying “If it makes you feel any better, I’m mildly depressed about 50% of the time these days. Lol”. Obviously I wasn’t actually laughing out loud as I texted that, but sometimes it is just helpful to know that you are not alone in your struggles.  

You are not alone.  

God loves you beyond measure.  

God calls you to love Him AND love your neighbor.

Prayer: Father God, I pray we would be able to truly reflect on how much you love us this week. I pray that being reminded of your love throughout Scripture and in our own lives would empower us to better love our neighbor. I pray that we would have eyes opened to the hurting around us, even when we feel hurt ourselves. During our time of hurt, please bring encouragement to our weary hearts, that we may love others as you do.

Song: “How He Loves” by John Mark McMillan

Side Note- If you have never heard the story behind the song “How He Loves” it is incredibly powerful and worth listening to. I’ll share it here in case anyone would like to hear it.

Haley is a stay-at-home mom of 3 kids. She loves illustrating, designing, coffee dates with her husband, and teaching her children about Jesus. A few of her favorite things are Coke Zero, Peanut Butter M&M’s, and TJ Maxx.