Condolence
Uncle Gary is home. I love this quote from C.S. Lewis – “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” Our heavenly home.
Having known and loved my Uncle Gary over my lifetime has been a reward to me. In the shells we build around ourselves over a lifetime we sometimes show a rigidity that doesn’t always portray the tenderness of our hearts. Gary, loved me all of my life. I know that.
So that became a gap in his shell that I purposely sought in every interaction with him for the rest of his life. I didn’t have as many interactions with him as an adult as I would have liked. Time, distance, borders, families, schedules, etc. That didn’t diminish love.
When I was able to spend time with Gary during our visit for the celebration and remembrance of Uncle Vernon’s beautifully bold walk with Jesus, I chose love. Gary loved me back, in tearful smiling eyes, and soft spoken words.
He was hurting in more ways than I can ever imagine, but his eyes couldn’t hide love and tenderness. His tears softened the ground on which we stood together, a generation apart, but still family. Still part of a grand and glorious legacy built on a love for Jesus and for one another.
That is my Uncle Gary. That is how I choose to see him. Until the next time, and what a glorious day that will be. All of my love to his family, in every direction. We are all created in His image and that is worth loving and celebrating.
A Reason We Should Consider
John 15:12-13 (NKJV)
12 This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.
How it Looks
Is laying down your life for your friends and family the same as serving them?
Yes, it’s the ultimate expression of it.
Think of service as a path. It starts with small, daily acts of kindness. In the time that none of us have, sacrifices still can be made. Whether you really want to or not, it requires the giving of your time. By clearing that hurdle, you can immediately lend your attention, and other resources to meet someone else’s needs.
In those moments, you are, in a very real way, “laying down” a piece of your life for them. Every act of service, from lifting someone into their chair or out of a vehicle, to giving a stranger a meal, is a miniature reflection of this ultimate sacrifice.
Jesus defines the greatest possible act of love as the final and total act of service: giving up your very existence for the sake of another.
As He said in John 15:13 (TLB):
“Your love for one another will be proven when you lay down your lives for each other.”
Or, in the more traditional John 15:13 (NKJV):
“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”
This is the pinnacle of putting another’s welfare before your own. It’s the complete and final surrender of the self in service to others. Every act of service, no matter how small, is practicing the posture of personal investment that finds its fulfillment in this ultimate sacrifice.
#Service #Love #Leadership #Faith #John1513