To Spend and Be Spent
"And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved." (2 Corinthians 12:15) There are many qualities I admire about my husband and things I continue to learn about and from him, but one of the greatest qualities about him is his level of selfless, sacrificial love. He's got the stuff that great missionaries of the past were made up of. He's the type that would gladly be a martyr for Jesus or spend 40 years serving lepers, if that's where he was called. When I've asked him before what he would do if I died, he said he might go to India and be a missionary. He's not the type to sit around and feel sorry for himself, but is always thinking about the advancement of the Gospel of Christ, both at home and abroad.
Dennis practices sacrificial service in little ways wherever he goes. He sees the eternal value of every single person, whether it's the inmates he serves at the county jail, the deputies he works with, the person he meets at the store, the little nephew who wants to build a fort, the elderly man at church, etc. Everyone knows he's a very hard worker, but even after a tiring day at work, he comes home with a cheerful word and smile for his wife, helps out with dishes, does little things around the house he knows she would like, goes to a meeting at church, visits a little niece with a hurt eye, shows hospitality to guests, talks to the neighbor, or does a maintenance project at the church or for a friend.
I heard somebody on Christian radio the other day commenting that this present generation is probably the most "me centered" generation ever. Individuality and independence are exalted like never before, while community spirit, interdependence, and service to others is downplayed. It's about MY feelings, MY rights, MY comfort, MY uniqueness, MY preferences, MY time, and MY space. How opposite to the attitude of Christ and the apostles who laid down their lives, their ambitions, their rights, their comfort, etc.! Even in the church, we (I'm speaking in the greater church sense) have become so small-minded. As a woman, I can say that women especially (myself included!) can major on the most minor, trivial things and lose sight of the bigger picture, instead getting wrapped up in hyper-sensitivities and irritations. I'm grateful for a husband who sees that bigger picture -- that we are laborers for the cause of Christ, and sometimes that involves a little discomfort, although our discomfort is SO small compared to what Christians in many countries go through joyfully! I wonder how we would endure persecution?
For Dennis, being a follower of Christ doesn't mean just reading the Bible and praying and saying the right things; it means being a doer of the Word as well, even when it requires sacrifice. Sometimes we don't feel like going to a meeting at church, but we go because we love God, want to be part of His work, and also want to obey the injunction to "not forsake the assembling of ourselves." (Obviously, if we're sick or something, that's different!) We show hospitality to the saints because this is a command given a number of times in the Bible AND it's a practical way to minister love and grace to others. The same goes for giving to someone in need, whether financially or practically. We can bear and forbear the irritating qualities of others because Christ loved us and we are called to love one another. We can send an encouraging word or make a phone call or a visit someone who needs a pick-me-up. I guess the list could go on, and how we serve may look different than how someone else serves because we've been given different gifts and abilities.
Well, this is getting long and I'm rambling, but I felt like I wanted to get some recent thoughts on "paper." I'm grateful for the Godly example of my husband, even though it's often meant getting out of my comfort-zone! I still have a long ways to go in the area of sacrificial love. But I want to work now on not being small-minded, but having the mind of Christ, "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." (Phil. 2:6-8) So what am I whining about today? Does it really matter in the light of eternity?
Dennis practices sacrificial service in little ways wherever he goes. He sees the eternal value of every single person, whether it's the inmates he serves at the county jail, the deputies he works with, the person he meets at the store, the little nephew who wants to build a fort, the elderly man at church, etc. Everyone knows he's a very hard worker, but even after a tiring day at work, he comes home with a cheerful word and smile for his wife, helps out with dishes, does little things around the house he knows she would like, goes to a meeting at church, visits a little niece with a hurt eye, shows hospitality to guests, talks to the neighbor, or does a maintenance project at the church or for a friend.
I heard somebody on Christian radio the other day commenting that this present generation is probably the most "me centered" generation ever. Individuality and independence are exalted like never before, while community spirit, interdependence, and service to others is downplayed. It's about MY feelings, MY rights, MY comfort, MY uniqueness, MY preferences, MY time, and MY space. How opposite to the attitude of Christ and the apostles who laid down their lives, their ambitions, their rights, their comfort, etc.! Even in the church, we (I'm speaking in the greater church sense) have become so small-minded. As a woman, I can say that women especially (myself included!) can major on the most minor, trivial things and lose sight of the bigger picture, instead getting wrapped up in hyper-sensitivities and irritations. I'm grateful for a husband who sees that bigger picture -- that we are laborers for the cause of Christ, and sometimes that involves a little discomfort, although our discomfort is SO small compared to what Christians in many countries go through joyfully! I wonder how we would endure persecution?
For Dennis, being a follower of Christ doesn't mean just reading the Bible and praying and saying the right things; it means being a doer of the Word as well, even when it requires sacrifice. Sometimes we don't feel like going to a meeting at church, but we go because we love God, want to be part of His work, and also want to obey the injunction to "not forsake the assembling of ourselves." (Obviously, if we're sick or something, that's different!) We show hospitality to the saints because this is a command given a number of times in the Bible AND it's a practical way to minister love and grace to others. The same goes for giving to someone in need, whether financially or practically. We can bear and forbear the irritating qualities of others because Christ loved us and we are called to love one another. We can send an encouraging word or make a phone call or a visit someone who needs a pick-me-up. I guess the list could go on, and how we serve may look different than how someone else serves because we've been given different gifts and abilities.
Well, this is getting long and I'm rambling, but I felt like I wanted to get some recent thoughts on "paper." I'm grateful for the Godly example of my husband, even though it's often meant getting out of my comfort-zone! I still have a long ways to go in the area of sacrificial love. But I want to work now on not being small-minded, but having the mind of Christ, "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." (Phil. 2:6-8) So what am I whining about today? Does it really matter in the light of eternity?
posted by Kristi | 8:46 AM
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