His Love

21 Mar

“A sacrifice to be real must cost, must hurt, and must empty ourselves.  Give yourself fully to God.  He will use you to accomplish great things on the condition that you believe much more in His love than in your weakness.”  ~ St. Teresa of Calcutta

Too many people pay lip service to Lent.  Oh, they give up things and promise to do more in service to others.  But the giving up and additional service are often highly calculated.  How much can I give up but not really feel it?  Who can I help while still avoiding doing tasks I’d rather avoid?  You might shake your head and say that doesn’t happen.  However, for many people, it does happen.

Our sacrifices must be felt.  If not, they are not really sacrifices.  Jesus sacrificed His life for us on the cross.  He could have done many other things.  He could have walked away from the crowds in the end and said that it wasn’t — that we weren’t — really worth it.  But He loved us too much for that.  So He sacrificed Himself.

It begs the question:  how much do we love God?  Are we willing to pour ourselves out for Him?  Are we willing reach out to all, including those we may avoid and/or despise?  Mother Teresa reminded us that we will not be able to do that if we focus on our weakness.

“Once burned, twice shy.”  That old adage impacts our lives in all sorts of ways.  If we have attempted something in the past and failed miserably, there is a good chance that we will not attempt it again.  Or, if we do attempt it again, we might choke and, therefore, fail once again.

When we look at our scars, our brokenness, and our weakness, we are more prone to give up on ourselves.  God doesn’t see weakness.  God doesn’t see scars.  God doesn’t see brokenness.  Instead, God sees to the very core of our beings.  He gazes at our beautiful souls and loves us intensely.  He would do anything for us.  As Lent continues, what are we willing to do for Him?

FAITH ACTION:  Ask God to reveal to you the many ways that He loves you throughout your day.