I can't sleep, and all I can think about is the time I've spent in Masi and the friendships/relationships that have been made, and the ache that resides in my heart from saying good-bye to friend after friend, child after child. I could go on to list the things my team 'did', but I don't know that that is what the outreach phase is about. I believe what it comes down to is love.
One night last week Lucas, a brother who lives in Masi, comes over because He felt that Jesus was going to highlight something on His heart to share with us. As we begin talking about how Jesus is moving, two words come to his mind: Love and Passion. He asks, "Kortney, tell me what comes to mind right away when you see a homeless man."
I respond, "Well, Lucas I guess I want to just give him anything I have, give him my purse or anything that is near. But, something always stops me from doing that."
I think a bit longer, and as I begin to speak again Lucas has tears in his eyes. "I think Lucas that Jesus stops me from just 'giving' materials away. Because what really matters is that man knowing Jesus and feeling His love rather than what I have to give him."
He begins to nod and says, "Yes, I think so too." He went on to say that he was moved by the passion we carried and the love that flowed from us. There was something that really made him ask what was different about our team, and as he told me what he had observed and how we loved really created impact in Masi, I wanted to burst. I wanted to burst into song, into tears, into laughter of relief. I had been fighting lies in my mind that I hadn't 'done' enough. Jesus was speaking to me so clearly through a brother and even my sister sitting next to me. As us three gathered together, the Holy Spirit connected and united us to say what He had to say.
1 Corinthians 13:3 "If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing."
This scripture Jesus put on my sister's heart as we continued to talk. Often times we have a mentality that is, 'do do do, give give give' (like I would always like to do to the homeless man on the street). But what about love? Paul talks about it in Corinthians, Jesus talks about it everywhere and even commands us to love him with all that we are and to love our neighbors as ourselves. This is what I believe His will is for us: to LOVE, to be His hands and feet (1 Cor 12). It's not about selling all our belongings or giving our possessions away to those who are begging or asking for it, I believe it really comes down to them feeling loved and that love creating a desperate need of, "I NEED Jesus." He is the one to satisfy, and yes as we partner with Jesus, He uses us to be part of it!
I look back at the time we spent in Masi, and I can say we loved. We loved well. And when you love from a place of knowing Jesus' love, it's that much more powerful. Loving others moves them to love, to want and to know His love in ways they've never expected. It's beautiful, encouraging, and empowers me to keep loving knowing that everything is rooted in love.
