In the midst of the race baiting, and all of the hate filled rhetoric that we are hearing on the news – a wonderful and precious thing happened to me today. It was a “God” thing — arranged by Him, and I’ll never forget it.
“For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.” 1 John 3:11 (KJV)
Many of you know that my husband has been diagnosed with cancer. We are committed to using a natural way to starve these cancer cells, and to that end, I was in a store purchasing a Juicer. I was waiting in line, and was suddenly overcome with sadness and began to cry.
The lady in line behind me approached me and offered a tissue. I looked in her eyes and I saw the compassion and love of Jesus. She was a beautiful black woman named Margurite, just a bit older than me — and she waited outside for me. I said to her “You love the Lord, don’t you?” And her face lit up as she nodded. I said I love Him too, and we hugged and cried.
What cures racism? New life in Jesus Christ.
We talked about the Lord Jesus for almost an hour. It was a glorious time. She shared events from her life, and how He had seen her through those times. I shared many stories with her about how He has been my everything, and how my family rejected me when I got saved. We exchanged phone numbers, and she told me that when she gave her number to someone, that there were no restrictions. She said that if I woke up in the middle of the night and needed to talk or pray, that I should call her. Her name is Margurite, and I’m in awe of the Creator of the Universe to think of me today, and to bring this angelic lady into my life.
We both expressed our love for one another. It’s hard to explain that kind of love to a person who does not know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. It’s Agape love. It is love that is of and from God. It is a sacrificial love. It’s the love that sent Jesus to the Cross for us.
FROM GOTQUESTIONS.ORG
Question: “What is agape love?”
Answer: The Greek word agape is often translated “love” in the New Testament. How is “agape love” different from other types of love? The essence of agape love is self-sacrifice. Unlike our English word “love,” agape is not used in the Bible to refer to romantic or sexual love. Nor does it refer to close friendship or brotherly love, for which the Greek word philia is used. Nor does agape mean “charity,” a term which the King James translators carried over from the Latin. Agape love is unique and is distinguished by its nature and character.
Agape is love which is of and from God, whose very nature is love itself. The apostle John affirms this in 1 John 4:8: “God is love.” God does not merely love; He is love itself. Everything God does flows from His love. But it is important to remember that God’s love is not a sappy, sentimental love such as we often hear portrayed. God loves because that is His nature and the expression of His being. He loves the unlovable and the unlovely (us!), not because we deserve to be loved, but because it is His nature to love us, and He must be true to His nature and character. God’s love is displayed most clearly at the cross, where Christ died for the unworthy creatures who were “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1), not because we did anything to deserve it, “but God commends His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). The object of God’s agape love never does anything to merit His love. We are the undeserving recipients upon whom He lavishes that love. His love was demonstrated when He sent His Son into the world to “seek and save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10) and to provide eternal life to those He sought and saved. He paid the ultimate sacrifice for those He loves.
In the same way, we are to love others sacrificially. Jesus gave the parable of the Good Samaritan as an example of sacrifice for the sake of others, even for those who may care nothing at all for us, or even hate us, as the Jews did the Samaritans. Sacrificial love is not based on a feeling, but a determined act of the will, a joyful resolve to put the welfare of others above our own. But this type of love does not come naturally to humans. Because of our fallen nature, we are incapable of producing such a love. If we are to love as God loves, that love—that agape—can only come from its true Source. This is the love which “has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit given to us” when we became His children (Romans 5:5). Because that love is now in our hearts, we can obey Jesus who said, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. As I have loved you, you should also love one another” (John 13:34). This new commandment involves loving one another as He loved us sacrificially, even to the point of death. But, again, it is clear that only God can generate within us the kind of self-sacrificing love which is the proof that we are His children. “By this we have known the love of God, because He laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers” (1 John 3:16). Because of God’s love toward us, we are now able to love one another. [1]
I know that the Lord appointed that time for me to meet this special sister today. She reminded me so much of my best friend in the Lord, who fought bone cancer for three years, and then Jesus brought Carol home. As I listened to Margurite, I thought to myself that God had brought another “Carol” to me. Carol and I would spend hours on the phone, talking about the goodness of God and praying for one another.
WHEN JESUS IS THE FOCUS, LOVE WILL REPLACE HATE EVERY TIME:
Margurite and I even talked about the riots, and how wrong it was for people to hate because of the color of skin. We laughed as we agreed that skin color is purely pigment or lack of pigment, and that it had nothing to do with the heart. She said to me “God made you and God made me, so what does that make us? Sisters!”
We hugged goodbye and promised to call one another. She got into her car, and I was standing next to mine, trying to get the juicer into the back seat. All of a sudden, I see a big SUV headed right for me! The woman driving had not looked to see if someone was there. She stopped about a foot away from me! With my heart pounding, I saw Margurite sitting in her car, and she yelled to me “I saw her almost hit you, and I cried out to the Lord to keep you safe!”
Well, I just wanted to share my blessed day with you. I believe that when people are born again, and have God’s Holy Spirit indwelling them, there is no room for hate or prejudice. Love…….Only Love.
MARANATHA!