Love God, Love Others

Have you ever had friends who were in a relationship, who just oozed all of the warm and fuzzies of coupledom.You know- super affectionate, cutsie pet names, inside jokes, and silly stories... And as much as you love them, you kind of want to hit them. Okay, maybe that's just me. Anyways, generally when they're in this intoxicated by the joys of love, they want everyone else around them to feel the same. They want the abundance, the overflow of love that they're experiencing to be shared by everyone else around them.

Loving God is the same way. It's a relationship. And when you're in love, you just bubble over with all of the joy that is love. You can't but help to want to share the love you're experiencing with others.

Love God, love others.



For a few months, this was screen shot on my phone as a reminder of sorts that in this life, its not about me. I was created not to seek self-gratification, but rather to well, love God, and love others. To love God means that I need to be constantly stoking the fire of that relationship. Because like any relationship, the honeymoon phase is only temporary. Love is a daily choice, that needs daily work. The fruit of that labor becomes the overflow of love that we possess for Christ. But what happens next?

From my perspective, two things happen. 1) Being afraid of losing that feeling, people begin to horde it, and keep it away from others. They cocoon themselves with only other like-minded believers behind church walls to protect this precious gift that they have. Or 2) go out and spread the good news of the gospel to the masses so that they too can share in the great sacred romance.

Now if I were to poll people on which option should be the action of Christians, overwhelmingly people would choose choice 2. Yet, is that truly loving others?

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Wednesday morning, I woke up at 3:30am after only getting about 4 hours of sleep, to drive down to DC to join hundreds of others at the Capitol to advocate for immigration reform. Shirts and passengers in tow, I watched the sunrise from I-95. After meeting at the Lutheran Church of the Reformation of D.C., we prayed at the Capitol and went to the offices of our respective congressional representatives to tell the stories of the shadows of immigration in this nation- the broken families, the individuals who have been raised in this nation, with America being all that they know, and yet cannot attend college, obtain a drivers license, work a real job, live the American Dream.

This is not my story. My mother's family is many generations American, and I am second generation American on my Father's side. Though this is not my personal narrative, I found myself at various points of the day holding back tears because it broke my heart to know that this is the daily reality of so many individuals in this nation- everyday people who work hard, and want the best for themselves and their families whose lives are lived in limbo and in fear. It made me that much more thankful the everyday insignificant things that I take for granted, that someone else is risking their life for.

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What does it mean to love others?

Life has taught me that loving others is much more than just sharing the good news. Loving others is living the overflow of the love that you have for God. Its becoming the extension of His hand and feet in the world. Its loving people unconditionally, regardless of race, culture, orientation, nationality, or status. Its making sacrifices for people you may never even know, to make an impact in the lives of people you may never even meet. More so than the biblical commandment, you do it because you remember that you were once lost and in need of salvation; at some point(s) in your life needed the helping hand of others.


¹⁹When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. ²⁰ When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. ²¹ When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. ²² Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this. (Deu. 24:19-22 NIV)

As Christians, it should be our mission and passion to fight against injustice. It should be our collective mission to give relief to those who suffer, feed those who are hungry, clothe the naked, fight for equality, and pursue justice. It is our responsibility to welcome the stranger, care for the fatherless, and protect the widow. It's not enough to just sit in our respective corners and pray. And worse yet, we don't have the option of seeing suffering around us and choosing to turn our noses up towards heaven. When we truly love God, we should be like that sappy couple, where they're so in love, they can't help but spread it everywhere they go.

I encourage all of us to rethink what it means to love God, and love others. For some, it may be as simple as paying for a stranger's cup of coffee or giving school supplies to local school children. For others, it may be going to Washington, or getting arrested in the name of justice to fight for the other. Whatever we do, however way we embody the overflow of the love of God, we must always do it in love.

 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 NIV)