Jesus lives w/ the Poor

Dated: March 10th

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25

The girls at the home all have lice and their faces are smeared with dust and grime. The first few weeks it was all I could do to pick one of them up. The red beans in their bowls and the fruit juice in their cups stains all of their clothes. I must be honest and upfront and tell you: I felt such an empty place in my heart for them. I didn’t feel love. The human part of me felt afraid and paranoid each time I took them in my arms. I wondered selfishly what I would do if I got lice down here without the luxury of driving to the store to buy lice shampoo. I worried about getting sick and not being able to get the medicine I needed. In an effort to protect myself, I was cautious and maintained a safe distance.

Because of these feelings, I began praying that God would impart a supernatural love to me, that He Himself would put a deposit of His love inside of me. I needed to feel my heart widen for them, for their hurt, for their desire to just be hugged and loved like a child. And then, I realized: in loving these girls, I am getting closer and closer to Jesus Himself. Yet, it is impossible for me to fully embrace the grace and the heart of Jesus without the aid of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives us the awareness to sense and know the love that God has for His own. When we let the Holy Spirit come in, we are allowing our own spirits to connect with the heart of God. I think we, as humans, as believers, walk around with the crazy idea that we can extend a real form of love on our own. We try to love in our own strength by serving or giving gifts or telling our loved ones how much we care, and then, we feel worn out and spent by the end of it all. All of these things are very true and good things. However, I firmly believe that we must learn to love like Jesus did. He loved out of the outflow of love He had received from the Father. I want to know Jesus because I feel His love in my own individual soul. I want to sense that love when I brush my teeth in the morning, when I walk to class, when I listen to a good song. I want to be awakened to His love for me in every single moment of my life for that is what makes it worthwhile.

I want to know a love that reaches beyond my own limits, that operates out of gratitude and not obligation. When we connect to the Holy Spirit, we begin to sense the surpassing love that Jesus modeled for us by giving His own life for our welfare. I recall a time I was laying in my bed one night. It was 4oclock in the morning, and I began to pray that God would give me a better understanding of who Jesus is in my life, the reality of His life and His death as it relates to my own. I needed to feel and see the depths of what He did for me, Margaret Pearcy Fleming. Funny how I grew up learning about the sacrifice of Jesus, yet still felt a disconnect in my heart. I was lying there, and I had tears streaming down my face. And in my minds eye, I saw the image of a cut out, much like a body traced on roller paper. The body was covering me. The body was Jesus. From above, all that could be seen was the cut out, covering me. That’s what Jesus did. That’s what Jesus still does. He covers us like a cut out so that God, the Father, can look upon us and only see the good parts, the parts that look like Jesus. I will never forget that image.

Which brings me to tell you about this strange feeling I have been having, that maybe, just maybe, that’s how God is calling you and I to love people: to only see the parts that look like Jesus. To let the rest fade out of focus for a moment and begin to look upon a person as one who is divinely loved. What a miracle. There are these moments, when I look the little ones in the eye, and I begin to wonder if I am looking at Jesus. In that moment, I want to kiss them on the head and let them hang all over me. I want to feel tired with their love and feel their weight as they crawl all over my lap. I want to learn to love Jesus. Matthew 25 tells me that by extending my heart to these girls, I am opening my heart and home to the person of Jesus. To love Jesus means to feed the hungry, clothe the poor, and visit the sick. It means to lend freely to those that can give nothing in return. For when we experience the true sacrifice of who Jesus is in our lives, we want nothing more than to show it to everyone around us.

We love God because He first loved us. We love others because He first loved them.