The Call To Love

Occasionally, when the vehicles are up and running, I will bake banana bread for the sick children at the hospital. At first, I will admit, it felt weird, knowing the extreme differences in food preferences between the Ni-Van’s and an American such as myself. I have the usual insecurities of an inexperienced cook but as luck would have it, bananas are something loved equally by both sides of the equator.

This past Friday was a special trip. In times past, it has been slightly awkward and I wondered if the recipients found it awkward culturally to accept a gift from a stranger. This time was different. The nurses recognized me and smiled as if an old friend had come. The children were exceptionally outgoing and eager to receive. It made me feel so incredibly good just to do something for someone else, someone who was not a relative, not a friend, but a stranger.

The Bible teaches us that love “seeketh not her own.” It also says when you do something for “the least of these,” it is as if you have done something for Christ Himself. When we show others love, we are living examples. We are His hands and feet reaching out to those in need. So no, I didn’t build a pulpit and preach them a Sunday sermon. I simply took a little time out of my day to love.

God has richly blessed me with this opportunity. I know that missions is not about the missionary - it is about the people. But by loving a stranger, I was, in fact, loving God.

This was not a part of my assignment. This was an opportunity to do something on my own as unto the Lord. I am building relationships with the people, and building my confidence as a Christian worker. Who knows, maybe next time I will ask to pray with someone, or maybe they will be able to see Christ ‘s love in me and ask me to pray for them.

I am reminded of the five loaves and two fishes and how God made them stretch to feed 5000. So why couldn’t God use a loaf of banana bread and a chatty girl from Texas?

There are no cultural limits on the language of love. Some rarely speak it, while others rarely have it spoken to them. My goal as a missionary is not to prove how smart I am, how much knowledge I have about the country, or to have statistics proving my worth. My goal is to show Christ’s unfailing love to a people who have had their fill of a selfish imitation of true love.

It is a simple truth, but it is my greatest calling - the call to love.

Jennifer