Let us not love with words or speech but with action and in truth

It’s hard to believe we leave for Kenya in just over two weeks! I seriously get so excited every time I think about it. Last week marked two years since I left the Hill, which means it’s been two years since I’ve seen those kids, and I miss them so much! I’m so ready to get back there. In my short time on the Hill in 2010, the Oasis kids truly became my family, and I can’t WAIT to be reunited with them. I’ve been looking at pictures from my last trip a lot lately and it just makes me so happy to think that in a few short weeks I’ll be with them again, hugging them and playing with them and singing with them and talking with them. I’ll also get to meet the 25 new kids who have come to the Children’s Home in the two years since I’ve been there, as well as visit some future Oasis sites, meet even more kids, and join Oasis in the process of transforming these children’s lives. I really can’t imagine any better way to spend the last month of my summer.

Each member of our team chose a trip verse – something they want to focus on during our time in Kenya, a verse that kind of encompasses what they hope to get out of this trip or what they want the trip to be about for them. I chose 1 John 3:18: “Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with action and in truth.” I want the focus of this trip for me to be love.

As I’ve been preparing my heart for this trip, I’ve spent a lot of time reading through 1 John, and focusing especially on chapters 3 & 4. I think those two chapters do a great job of explaining what love is and why loving others is so important. Jesus gave us the perfect example of love by dying for us. If we truly want to follow Him, then we need to love others with that same type of all-consuming love. And we love not only to be more like Jesus ourselves, but also to help others experience Jesus. 1 John 4:12 says, “No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” I know I will come across people in Kenya who don’t know God. And if someone has never heard of God, we can talk about God all we want, but it’ll be hard for that person to fully understand. Some people might not even know what it means to be loved; how are they supposed to comprehend that the creator of the universe loves them enough to die for them? The only way they can really understand that kind of love is if someone shows love to them first. My prayer is that, in every encounter I have with people in Kenya, God’s love will be made complete in me. I hope that I can show love to each and every person I meet, and that through me, they can get a tiny glimpse of God’s unending love.

The reason I chose 1 John 3:18 as my trip verse, rather than another verse in one of these chapters (because there are a TON of great ones… see 3:16-17, 4:7-8, 4:12, 4:16, 4:19, 4:21), is because I like the way this verse makes love seem like a verb. You can talk all day about loving people, you can tell someone you love them, but if you don’t act on it, if you don’t SHOW them that you love them, it’s not really love. God didn’t just SAY he loved us. No, God SHOWED his love for us by laying down his life for us. Love is an ACTION. It’s something you DO. I don’t just want to talk about loving others; I want to love. I can love by serving. I can love by listening. I can love by being patient. I can love in everything that I do, and that is something I'm going to really strive for during this trip. When it comes to love, I want to walk the walk and not just talk the talk. And while this verse is specifically talking about loving others, I think it can apply to loving God too. I feel like lately, my spiritual life has been a little dry. I talk a lot about being a Christian and about loving God, but to what extent am I living out that love? Is my love for God evident in everything I do everyday? It’s not, but that’s something I really want to work on. I hope and pray that, through this trip, I will not only learn to love others more, but also to love God more.

I recently read a book called Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis (which I highly recommend, by the way.) Katie is only a few years older than me, and she has committed her life to loving and ministering to children in Uganda. I love Katie’s heart, her willingness to wholeheartedly follow Jesus and her passion for showing love to every person she encounters. I want my life to look more like hers – or, rather, I want my life to look more like Jesus’, because she really captures what it means to love like Jesus loved. I came across a quote in her book that really stood out to me:

"I believe in miracles and mostly I believe in love, God's love - big, extravagant, unconditional. His love moves mountains and changes the world, love that is freely given, that we may also freely give it to others." –Katie Davis

God, help me to love like Katie, and to love like You. Help me to not forget the incredible, extravagant, unconditional love that You have so generously lavished upon me, and help me to show that same kind of love to others. I ask that You open my eyes to every opportunity to show love on this trip. Help me to be selfless, God. I pray that I will not only love with words or speech, but with actions. And I pray that my life will begin to better reflect my love for You. I don’t want to just talk the talk, I want to walk the walk. I want everything I do to be all about my love for You and my love for all of Your children. My life does not look like that right now, but I am confident that this trip is a step in the right direction and will help me grow in this area. I can’t wait to see what You will do in me and through me in these next few weeks.

Amen.