The Pastor’s Blog – LOVE DOES THAT!
We are on vacation. And what do you do on vacation? Rest, relax and do nothing… Soak up the sun (lots of that in the Okanagan) and maybe swim in the lake. That’s a holiday…
Unless …
Unless you visit family and something needs to be done. For instance, we arrived at our daughter’s place and noted the lilac bushes had been cut down. Now it was time to get rid of the bushes all together. Now lilacs can be lovely but they are really hard to dig out. They have extensive root systems that reach far from the main root.
So Saturday morning before the sun got too hot we started digging out the lilac bush. It is hard work, hot and dusty. 25 degrees soon becomes 26 degrees, then 27 and 28… Our hole is one foot, then two feet deep and now three feet deep. We fill three bags with root pieces and after two hours of digging we finally free the big root center.
Here’s the lesson… No one forced me to dig out that root. In fact no one even asked…just suggested. Why did I do it? Because I love my kids, Amanda and Cole. It would help them so I did it. Love does that…
Why did Jesus die for you and me? He suffered so much when he didn’t have to. But love does that… “For God so loved the world…”
And as we come to know Jesus better we will look for more and more ways to serve him. We will help others, volunteer, give and embrace others in the name of Jesus. Why? Because love does that…
So today Christians around the world – despite COVID 19 – are helping each other and so many others because love does that. And what is the source of that love? “God has shed his love abroad in our hearts through the Holy Spirit.” Romans 5:5.
So whether we are digging out lilac bushes or helping someone move or visiting a shut in we do it not out of duty or trying to earn God’s favour… Love just does that.
– Pastor Gary