ENCOUNTER: DAY 16

SCRIPTURE READING - DAY 16


1 John 3:16-18

This is how we know what love is: Jesus
Christ laid down his life for us. And we
ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
If anyone has material possessions and sees
his brother in need but has no pity on him,
how can the love of God be in him?

Dear children, let us not love with words
or tongue but with actions and in truth. (NIV)


MEDITATION BY Judy Perkins


I have worked at the CRM office since 1989, processing donations. But after
my diagnosis with cancer in February 2005, I took time off work to receive treatment. Later that year in November, I was well enough to return to the job
I love.

I walked through the doors of CRM with a turban on my head. With three months of chemotherapy treatment, I had lost my hair.

As I walked through those doors on my first day back, I was unsure, embarrassed, and felt very sad. It was hard for me to feel feminine because I was bald. And I didn't want anyone at the office to feel sorry for me.

However, my fellow office workers at CRM greeted me with hugs and smiles. The women in the office started bringing me things that made me feel feminine—hats, earrings, lapel pins. Every morning as I came in the door, they greeted me and took time to admire what I was wearing.

Through these little gifts and their intangible gifts of compassion and kindness, they turned a time of sadness into a celebration of life. They stood in the gap for me. They cared. I will never forget when someone asked, “What can I be for you in this time?” Nobody had asked me that before—usually people wanted to give practical help, not their presence.

Because of the love they showed me through their actions, I became more dependent on God. I am someone who likes being in control. Nothing had ever happened to me that I couldn’t control. Years ago, when my husband became seriously ill, I could take care of him and still have control over that. But when I got sick, I was helpless and broken. God allowed it to happen because he wanted me to realize that he was in control of my life. All I could do was cling to the cross.

Through the compassion and care of my co-workers at CRM, the Lord showed me his love, and that I needed to accept that love. He does work through people, but sometimes we stand in the way, wanting to be in control. The simple truth is that Jesus is sovereign over my life; He loves and cares for me.

Having had the experience of cancer and everything it brings also showed me that I can reach out to other people and walk in their shoes. From my friends' actions, I learned that we need to meet people where they are.

Jesus loved me enough to lay down his life. He can certainly choose to use my friends from work and their caring acts to help me understand his love even more, and to teach me to love others in the same way.


REFLECTION


How has God shown you his love through other people?


Think of someone in your life who is going through a difficult time. What can you be for them?


Are there any obstacles in your heart that prevent you from receiving love from God and others? Confess those to God and ask him to take them away.