Lessons in loving people

I’ve always found it very easy to connect with people. I love to talk with and meet new people. I also have lots of different groups of friends and that helps me make connections to people quickly. When I was in college some of my friends used to play 6 Degrees to Beth. They would name a famous person and we’d find a link no more than 6 people long that connected me to that person. We were almost always successful. I recognized in college that this was a great way to make people feel welcome and comfortable. I’ve spent some time learning about how churches can make guests feel comfortable. I’m in the process of finding a new church and one of the things that I have enjoyed about the process is seeing how different churches reach out to newcomers. I can quickly build relationships with my clients and with my new Bible study groups each year. Somehow though, this doesn’t always translate to loving people I don’t know. I think sometimes I can be a little matter of fact and just move through whatever process I am in without really seeing people. It can be easy to just focus on the transaction, instead of focusing on people.

On my recent outreach to Guatemala, one of the main things that the Lord put on my heart is that it should be just as easy to love the people right around me every day as it is to love the people of Guatemala. Why is it different? There are a few reasons that it’s easier for my human brain and heart to love the people in Guatemala as opposed to the people right around me every day. First, it was for a short time. I can do anything for a week. Second, the whole purpose of the trip was to show these people the love of Jesus, the whole purpose was to love them! It is easier to focus on loving others when that is our sole purpose for what we are doing.

That gets me thinking though. Why isn’t my sole purpose in all that I do to show others the love of Christ? It should be. That’s not how I always live though. Some days, it looks more like my purpose is getting my computer work done or having my questions answered. Sometimes it looks more like I just want whatever I walked in the store for instead of wanting to show others Jesus. I may have visited two different Starbucks today. :-) At the first one, the barista asked me if I was coming in before or after church. I answered his question and then continued looking over the menu. Then he said he had not seen me there before and asked if I had just moved to this area or was just on this side of town for the day. He proceeded to tell me about every item on the menu and ask me questions about what I might like and what I didn’t want. Honestly, I was a little annoyed by it. I can read the menu myself. Then I realized that he was not being annoying, he was showing me that he cared about what I wanted, about me. I placed my order and then he took care of it for me. A little later he walked by where I was sitting and he used my name to ask me if I needed anything. As I was leaving he once again used my name to say good bye. That was really nice. Here’s the thing; today I didn’t need to be noticed, but someone in that Starbucks did. His actions show that he understands that we all need to feel loved and like we have a place. I am going to try to be a little more like that guy. I want to show people that they are loved, wherever I am. I want to go out of my way to show the love of Christ to others. Psalm 34:5 says that those who look to the Lord are radiant. Think about that. When we look to Christ we are able reflect His love in a way that other’s cannot help but notice. Oh how I pray that I radiate Jesus in all that I do!