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“I have heard how you are taking care of my son, and I have never known such a love. I want to be saved.”
~ A dying mother
There it is. The beginning and the end. I have never known such a love and I want to be saved. You just read the whole mission of our lives in one sentence. When I read it for the first time in Francis Chan’s book Crazy Love, the simplicity of it took my breath away. He spoke about a woman on a mission to Tanzania with little money and no plan who fell in love with a child and filled the gap for his mother who was dying. One act of love for one person. I got goosebumps when I read that dying mother’s words to her.
As he told their story, that one line brought instant clarity to me. I have searched many years for simple statements with great impact that defined why we are here. Why I am here. The search is over. It just doesn’t get simpler than that. To show someone a love like they have never known so they can be saved. Wow. Why do I make it so complicated?
Why do I think I need to be a Bible scholar fully prepared with all the answers? Why do I need to fill my calendar overflowing to attend all the events and reach all the people? Why do I push so hard for people to hear my words when all they need is to see my love? It really isn’t complicated, so why does it seem so hard to do?
This story is of a woman I have never heard of that did just one thing. She loved a child that was in a horrible situation with the most effortless act. She fed him. Her name is not in history books, and she doesn’t lead thousands of people. But the words that dying mother spoke to her demonstrated the unbelievable power of love in action.
She didn’t preach salvation to her. She didn’t invite her to Sunday school. She didn’t get her connected to a small group. These are all wonderful things, but they are extra. Those are not necessarily hard things, but it didn’t have to be even that hard. I often miss the most straightforward answer for the toughest questions. How do you save a life?
Why do I try to complicate it all when in its most basic form, love really is all I need? His love shown to another like He has shown to me. His love for me is how I came to know Him, and that is how they will know us. They will know us by our love. So simple.
