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 Show Your Love
Because
He First
Loved Us
By Reverend Paul Neuman
When I think about Grace on Wings
and the work that is done, three
Scripture verses keep coming to
mind. The first is, “So then, as we
have opportunity, let us do good to
everyone, and especially to those who
are of the household of faith.” (Gal.
6:10). This is God’s love being shown
to the world. So many times we think
about having to “rock the world for
Jesus,” that we forget about just
showing His love to those around us.
One of the reasons Christianity
spread so rapidly in the first few
centuries following Jesus’ death and
resurrection is because His people did
good to the society around them.
Starting hospitals and orphanages,
rescuing babies abandoned as
“unwanted” (many thrown in a river
to die), and the like were acts done by
God’s people. They did not see
themselves as heroes or social
activists, just regular people of God who saw a need and then lived out their
faith in everyday life. They knew the
reality of “for God so loved the world” so
intimately that it impacted their lives
and they could not help but provide care
with no thought of, “What’s in it for
me?”.
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It was just being who they were
as God’s people. This so impressed the
people around them that these had to
come and see what these “Jesus people”
were all about. Hearing, then, the
message of Jesus’ atoning sacrifice and
the promise of the abundant life (and
seeing that life in action) brought them
to receive the gift of faith. All this just
because ordinary Christians showed the
world the love of God.
This brings me to the second verse: “By
this all people will know that you are my
disciples, if you have love for one
another." (John 13:35).
This is God’s
people living out who they are as His
people. Loving those around us is as
natural for God’s people as breathing air.
It is seeing people in their lostness, their
distress, and providing relief. It is living
out who we are. It is having that same
care and compassion that drove Jesus to
the cross for us being transferred to
others. Love given as a reward is not the undeserved love (grace) that is given
through Christ. The agape love of
Scripture isn’t looking for something,
rather it is love given without having first
been given something or with expecting
something in return. It is a reflection of
that undeserved love God has given to us.
This is the answer of the “Why?”
and “How?” of Grace on Wings. Why do
we do this? How can we do this?
It is simply a reflection of what God
does for us. “We love because He
first loved us.” (I John 4:19).
Granted, there is the use of
complicated machinery (turbo props,
ALS, etc.), but it is simply the fact of
God having loved us that enables and
empowers us to reflect His love
through aviation. |
