The Power of Love

We never know when it will happen. We could be walking down the street or down a crowded corridor at school. It could happen at work, at home, or at the mall. It happened to me this past Saturday, right in the middle of a parking lot.

What am I talking about? The opportunity to love someone - "not as the world loves, but as Christ first loved us."

Look at the couple in this picture. They are actually total strangers, yet they found themselves in a loving embrace. Why? The guy was heading to the checkout line with the store's last generator. They were selling fast ahead of Hurricane Irma.

The woman in the picture began to cry because her father needs oxygen to survive. If the power went out in the hurricane the oxygen would stop and her father would very likely die. The man in the picture, seeing the woman crying, gave her his generator. Wow!

Saturday I was at Ruby's Pantry, a local food distribution for those in need. My job is per-registering people outside while they wait in line. This gives me the opportunity to interact with people and ask them how they are doing in life. I always do that. But I wasn't prepared for the answer I received on Saturday. Or was I?

One lady responded to my "How are you?" question with a lukewarm response so I dug deeper. "Anything I can pray for?" I asked.

"Me. A few weeks ago I made a suicide attempt."

Okay. What do you say to that?

I asked a few more questions and then offered to pray with her. I placed my arm around her shoulder and pulled her in close. My prayer was all about the unconditional love of God, who sacrificed His Son so that we might have life. Eternal life. I tried to be as encouraging as I could and then, at the end I told her I loved her.

I know that's kind of a weird thing to say to a total stranger but I felt like I needed to tell her that.

Later on I saw her in her car, driving up to get her groceries from the loading dock. She stopped her car short and then got out. She came over and gave me a hug and thanked me for my prayer.

We never know when we will be presented with a God-orchestrated opportunity to speak into the lives of others about God's amazing unconditional love. "Generator Man" was an amazing example of what God's love looks like. He sacrificed his needs in favor of someone else's. May God bless him for his example and his love for a total stranger.

May each of us ALWAYS be ready to display the love of Christ to everyone we meet. In that way God will be honored and that is why you and I were created - to worship Him in everything we think, do and say.

³⁴ “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. ³⁵ By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” - John 13:34-35

(I just used that verse last week I think but it's an important thing to say, especially now in these last days)

Man Gives His Generator To A Stranger - CNN
The Power of Love -  Huey Lewis and The News
Father, Spirit, Jesus - Casting Crowns