Yesterday, I was talking to our church associate pastor, Rev. Leonard Backus, and something he said triggered the conviction of the Holy Spirit in me. That is to love others not for what they do but for who they are. That isn’t even the topic that we were talking about but for some reason God made that thought stick in my mind all day and I still can’t stop brewing over it. I, myself, have been found guilty of basing my love and trust on what people do for me. It is a easy mindset to grab on to especially if you have ever been hurt by people. “I will only be friends with this guy because I know that he has a set of skills that can be real beneficial to me.” This might not be a phrase admitted out loud but it is surely in the minds of many people. As a parent, I can not base my love for my kids on what they do because that wouldn’t be fair to them. Not only do I love them because they are the my children, but I love them for who I see that they will be. I look at my kids and I know that God has a huge plan and purpose for them and I know how much God cares for them. Andrew my musician, song writer, preacher and Addison my singer, preacher, prophetess. I love them not just because they are my children but they are God’s children and he has chosen them before the foundations of the earth. (Ephesians 1:4,5; 2 Timothy 1:9)
The real challenge though is applying this to other people. Do you love and trust the people around you that God has chosen to die for based on how they will reciprocate the feeling toward you? Do you become friends with someone because you know they got a brand new zero turn lawnmower and you know they are the type of person that will let you use it to cut your grass? I ran into an old friend the other day and he was telling me how he is struggling with the little bit of faith that he has, and I began telling him about the call that I see on his life and how God wants to use him. He asked me how I could see that because he definitely could not see it. I told him because of who he is. His first reaction was to say that all the things and money he has aren’t who he is, they are just things. I told him I know all that but that is far from what I meant. I had worked with him in the past, and spent a lot of time and got to know him and his heart. I know with no doubt that God has a great plan if he will just simply believe it. From the exterior, he may be a successful businessman, but what God could do through him would be miraculous. I love him for he is, not for what he could do for me.
The same principle applies to God. Do we love Him for all that He has done for us or simply for who He is? We are to worship God for who He is. This weekend being the weekend that Jesus died and rose from the grave is a perfect time to ask the question, “Do I love Him just for what He did this weekend or for who He is?” What He has done for us, He did because of who He is. My challenge to you (and me) is to examine your relationships with people and with God. Ask yourself do I put my love and trust in them because of what they can do or for who they are? The last thing that I wanted to do was to be preachy. I just simply wanted to make you think just as this question has made me.