Choosing HIS Love

About a month ago, I made a stop at a McDonalds near Downtown Denver.  It was a bitterly cold day and I was really looking forward to a nice hot cup of coffee.  Despite the cold, there were only a few people in the restaurant.  Among those was a middle-aged looking couple.  As I walked by their table, the lady made a passing comment to me.  After stopping and chatting with them for a few moments, I realized that the lady was very drunk.  I gave them both a gospel tract and tried to witness to them but the lady stopped me, "You know how you can help me?  Can I have your hat and your scarf?  It's cold out there and I don't even have a place to stay."  Immediately, my inward spirit revolted a bit at her request.  I thought, "How rude!  You don't just ask someone for their stuff!"  and "But...these are my favorite...someone made them for me.  They're special...I'm not going to give them to some drunk person that could have spent their money on a hat and a scarf rather than on a bottle of booze."  Then another voice whispered to me, "So, you love that hat and scarf more than Me?"  And then it hit me...God was wanting to teach me another lesson.  I took my hat and scarf and gave it to the lady.  Another lady from our church that was with me had overheard our conversation and had purchased some hamburgers and fries for the couple.  She brought it over and set it down on the table.  I tried to witness to the couple again but in their intoxicated state, it was nearly impossible.  I left them with our tract and went back out to the car. 

Tears ran down my cheeks as I realized part of the truth that God wanted to show me.   True love...Christlike love is not a feeling.  It isn't giving to those that deserve it or those that can reciprocate it.  It isn't even giving to those that realize the value of what you are giving.  It is pouring out to those that are unlovable...even to those that are untrustworthy.  It is looking at the people that have broken your heart and maybe even broken your trust and CHOOSING His love.  That is something that I can NOT do in my humanity.  MY love says, "I have given you my heart, my trust, and my love...you have betrayed me and hurt me...I'm going to put up my walls...crawl into my shell and keep myself from ever being hurt like that again."  HIS love constantly pours out over and over...despite the way that we ignore Him, disobey Him, and even, at times, blame Him.  HIS love walks the road to Calvary for the very people who are spitting on Him...beating Him...forsaking Him.  HIS love pours out for the blaspheming thief on the cross as well as for the repentant thief.   Wow.  And God once again whispers to my heart, "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that HE LOVED us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."

After the Storm- (This was written June '09 but, I thought I'd share it)

As I drove to the park to take a morning walk, I couldn’t help noticing the beauty that surrounded me.  It seemed a bit ironic because just several hours earlier there had been a fierce rainstorm.   Now, however, the morning dew adorned the grass, the trees, and the leaves producing the most brilliant shade of green.  I took a moment to stop and thank God for the magnificence that He was allowing me to appreciate.  I felt particularly loved by God because green is my favorite color and He had really outdone Himself this morning.  I DO realize that grass, trees, and leaves have always been green but, for some reason, this morning God had made them just a touch greener for ME!  I arrived at the park and enjoyed a very refreshing walk.  During my walk, I took several moments to ponder something I believed that God was trying to show me.  You see, earlier this week, I began a “God Loves Me” journal.  I started recording one way each day that God manifested His love toward me.  
As I continued to walk, God revealed a very fascinating truth to me.  I could almost feel Him lean down and gently whisper in my ear, “I don’t just love you, Erica, as someone recently told you, I am simply crazy about you.  Did you see that fantastic shade of green this morning?  That was for you…but…it DID take a rainstorm to produce that.  That is exactly how beautiful and magnificent I want to make your life; however, it may take some very intense storms to get your life the perfect “shade of green” that you love so well.  Won’t you let me do that for you?”
How many times had I missed out on the beauty that God wanted to work in me because I was so intensely focused on the storm?  What I saw as devastation was actually the way that God was working to produce such stunning beauty.  I am reminded of the verse in Isaiah, “…to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for heaviness…”  God most certainly is good…ALL THE TIME!  “Thank you, Lord, for taking what we, in our humanity, see as the ‘bad’ and transforming it into your heavenly beauty.  You are so wonderful, God.  Oh, and, you know what?  I’m pretty crazy about You too!”