Wonderful Love

I am often struck by the generosity of the people of the world.  

 I am not blind, I see the greed and corruption and I am aware of the damage that selfishness causes in our world.  However, when I open my eyes and my heart to see what else is going on, I see people—some with a little and some with a lot giving generously, sharing what they have with others.

I experienced this in my first years of life in Zimbabwe in a way that changed me forever.  In those first years, when I lived in the ghetto of a small tourist town in the kitchen of a family that had so little compared to the way I had grown up I experienced hospitality in a way I didn’t know existed before.  As I got to know my neighbors and had the opportunity and privilege to hear their stories I saw how they shared with one another.    In those days the Zim dollar, our currency was collapsing.  We experienced inflation rates that astounded economists around the world.   Shelves in the grocery stores were empty and people we knew were starving.  Food was scarce and yet people were sharing it.

Today, my husband and I are in Michigan where I grew up.  I have not lived in this area in more than 15 years.  Yet today we have been blessed by three families that do not know us, from three different church communities in different ways.  They are sharing their belongings with us.

This is the kind of love that Jesus taught.  This is the kind of love that the early church lived out.  This is what I think it means to be a Christian.

This is the kind of love that fills my heart with wonder.