1 JOHN 4:7-11 Loving one another. Dear Friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and know God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love– not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, surely we ought to love each other.
Even as a young girl I felt as if I was suppose to be a part of something bigger. I felt as if God had big big plans for me. I didn’t truly even understand what having faith was but I believed God to be of greater power than anyone or anything we could comprehend here on earth.
I had a favorite poster that hung on my wall during for a long time. I was no older than 11 at best. When I first bought the poster I was completely unaware that it was in fact a bible verse. I fell in love with this verse, decided no matter what life brought me I wanted to live life in this way. Of course life never happens as we plan. Many times when I found myself suffering or struggling with decisions I went back to this verse. Being young it was understandable I did not completely understand the meanings in the context they were intended so it didn’t become truly significant until much later in life. Especially now in life. If any of you have read my prior writing “Finding The Way Out of Darkness” you might understand why especially now it has a powerful impact on my daily life. I struggled finding my way in life, with finding myself after so many disappointments and loss. Still through it all I maintained that God wanted me to do something bigger.
I am absolutely one of those people others refer to as a hopeless romantic, a dreamer, that I live inside a hallmark movie. I am naive enough to believe love endures all, love conquers all. I believe it is indeed love that will save the world and all who are in it. During my journey the last few years the pull I have felt to be about something bigger has only grown stronger. I patiently/impatiently sit and wait for God to send me a sign or show me how he intends me to do this, to be this for him. Obviously it isn’t going to come as a flashing neon sign that reads THIS is what you are suppose to do……… fast forward.
Today I woke up earlier than normal for a Sunday. I went out into the kitchen and started the coffee finding myself curious as to what I would get out of the message given at church today. I quickly realized I was up early enough to listen to a preacher on TV I enjoy watching Sundays if I am awake in time. The message he was giving this morning was, Its not too late. He spoke of how we are doing wrong. I was all on board UNTIL he referred to how putting Trump in the white house was wrong and we would suffer from that decision. He also referred to OBAMA and his choices on healthcare. It doesn’t truly matter who we put in the white house, which I agree with. It matters HOW WE choose to live, the choices we make every day. Are we living how God intended? Then he did it, He then went on to make reference to Black and Whites and how the decisions of who we put in power was an insult to their ancestors. Now I realize this is a contraversal topic but bare with me for a moment. I am calling attention to it for one reason, WHERE in the bible does it speak of differences between races? As far as I am aware the bible is the same. I quickly became disappointed in him for his choice of presentation. I always have and always will see and treat people all as people, plain and simple.
As long as WE keep separating the human race into racial categories and stereotypes, our country, our world will NEVER be great again no matter who is in power. I will never understand why it is that PEOPLE have to refer to other people by their skin color or anything else. We are humans. We are children of God. Simple as that. We are all living in this world trying to survive. Why, Why can’t we work together as it is intended. It isn’t about mistakes we make in our life, its about what we do to do better, be better. We all sin. We need to all ask for forgiveness. I promise my rant pertains to my message here……
Today, I walk into church, mind you I have just gotten back to attending church. I hadn’t found a church that I felt like was where I was meant to be. I struggled with what it was about. Well, my husband and I decided it was time and chose to give a church near our home a try. We are currently going through 40days of Church wide Prayer and Fasting for church health. It has been eye opening for me. Last week was incredibly impactful, speaking of abiding in God. I learned so much.
Today, today was a day I will never forget. We walked into church and sat down and as I looked up the verse for today it was 1 JOHN 4: 7-11 I listed the verse at the top for reference. It spoke to loving one another, about how God gave his only son for our sins and how he loves us and how we should love one another. I sat listening intently. I heard every word. It spoke to loving as God intended for us to love. Not how WE think we should love. It spoke to loving one another as Christians. The preacher spoke about loving one another as brothers and sisters in Christ and solely for that reason only. It didn’t speak of loving others IF they look just like me, IF they dress a certain way, IF they make a certain amount of money or received a specific kind of education. It didn’t speak of loving one another only if we all live on the upper West side etc. It didn’t say love one another ONLY if you share the same opinions or if you have the same skin color. It didn’t say love one another ONLY if they have never done you wrong or only if they have never hurt you or disappointed you. It didn’t say love one another ONLY if there is never sin. WE ALL SIN. It said LOVE ONE ANOTHER.
As I sat there listening to the preachers message.. it affected me deeply. It brought back so many things for me. Had I been living and making sure that I am choosing love? Love in the manner that God asks of us? Have I been forgiving ? Have I been kind to my brothers and sisters in Christ? Have I shown kindness and compassion to others to show them that I love them? The more important question is DO I DO IT EVERYDAY? Do I live loving others regardless of who they are and what they have done because that is what God requires us to do? Do I hold grudges, get angry, misunderstand… the list goes on. Yes I do. Can I do better? Yes I can. Still, In the end I love.
As I sat there listening the scripture and the message the preacher was presenting, I felt an overwhelming amount of emotions come over me. As I sat there listening tears started running down my face. It felt like my whole life and what I feel about love came full circle. I felt like God was speaking to me personally, telling me THIS, this is what you are suppose to do. You are suppose to love in this capacity, you are to be an example of love for others to see and follow. This is my something bigger calling. I am positive this is why I have been given the overwhelming sense of love I feel, I believe it is why I have endured all I have been faced with so that I would know what it means to love and be loved in this manner.
There is no amount of money in the world, no house big enough, no car expensive enough, not a name brand out there, not anyone specific that can give me the tools and guidance needed to be and live life in this capacity of something bigger. It can only be and always has only been God. It leads me to see that even when I was lost I wasn’t completely lost. I trusted in him and I simply asked him for his guidance and his help and he showed me what I desired to know. I was meant for something bigger, I was made only for love, are you?
Mississippi Musings by Shanna 
Oh daughter you know I cried reading this. My heart is overflowing with joy and love. I love you
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