An Extreme Case of Love

I remember the first time one of my children threw up -- I mean, reeeaallly threw up. Now, I will clean fish, dig for worms, dress a wound, change the worst diaper known to man, but that? Whoa! So, I called my mom for moral support, opened a dining room window, and hung my head out after each pass at the mess just so I could finish without becoming sick myself. I was determined to care for my child.

Mother Teresa, in an interview once said, "I wouldn't touch a leper for a thousand pounds. Yet I willingly care for him for the love of God." Mother Teresa was determined to be a light to those in a very dark world.

Sometimes being what we are called to be is messy, or unpopular, or difficult, or inconvenient, or just downright unsanitary! But love has a way of moving us toward things we thought we'd never do, or thought we couldn't do. 1 John 4:18 says, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear..." If I'd been so driven by my discomfort and repulsion, if I'd neglected to care for my sick, helpless child, what kind of care giver would I be? If I allowed myself a pass on the hard things of motherhood, what would my involvement with my children eventually come to look like? How would my children try new and difficult things if I didn't set the example? How would they grow and thrive if their "unattractive qualities" were cause for rejection? My love for my child outweighed any consequence to me.

And Mother Teresa -- it was her love for God that drove her to do the unthinkable. 1 Corinthians 5:14 says, "The love of Christ compels us..." If Mother Teresa had refused to show love in a selfless, exceptional way, how could she then turn around and tell others of the selfless, exceptional love of Jesus? Would people have seen her -- a woman like any other, or would people have seen God's love flowing freely from her?

Imagine the beggars, the demon possessed, the prisoners, the prostitutes Jesus encountered. Were they freshly showered? Did they have clean clothes for the day? Think about it. What did these people look like? What did these people smell like? Do you think any of them might have had lice or fleas? Were their beards tangled, their hair matted with dust and twigs? And what was Jesus' response? Philippians 2:7-8 says, "[Jesus] made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross." If it had been the Father's will, Jesus might have considered "leper hugging" or "smallpox snuggling" the easy way out. Instead, He welcomed the sickest of the sick and lowest of the low, and went to the cross! Jesus relinquished His comfort, His will, His glory, His very identity to love on people who were what some might call "gross." But, to Jesus, there is nothing more gross than the sin that separates us from God, and He went to extreme lengths to love people into relationship with God.

To what lengths will you go to show them what He did?