Pastor's Desk

Love Makes us Do It

            A young girl was dying.  Her only hope lay in a complete blood transfusion, but she had a very rare blood type.  Only her bother, even younger than she, had the same type blood.  His parents and doctors explained the situation to him, giving him time to ask questions.  He agreed and, without delay, he was laid on a bed, the needle was pushed into his tiny vein, and slowly his blood seeped from his small body into the bag hanging from his bed.  He lay quietly as the nurse stood next to him, ready to attend to any need he might have.  “How do you feel?” she asked. “Ok,” he answered, “but, Nurse, when do I die?”

What love this little boy had for his sister.  What must he have thought when his own parents seemingly agreed, even asked him to sacrifice his life to save his sister’s?   

The boys’ love for his sister can help us see how much Jesus loves us.  Jesus suffered abuse, torture, persecution, and death for all of us.  “Greater love has no one than this, that He lay down His life for His friends” (John 15:13).  He demonstrated His tremendous love not because of our worthiness, but because He is a God of tremendous love.  Jesus’ love for His heavenly Father and for us changed the world.  Through His death and resurrection from that death, we through faith have received the forgiveness of our sins and life eternal.  God’s love to us in Christ is that power that enables us to love Him.  “We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

The love of Jesus empowers us to be His stewards.  Because of Jesus’ love, we change from people giving to a need to people responding out of love.  Certainly, we give to needs such as our church budget, Christian causes, and people, but our primary reason for giving is out of love and commitment to Jesus.  When needs arise, Jesus opens our eyes and hearts so we can respond to those needs.  However, our primary reason for giving is a desire to express our gratitude and thanksgiving for our Lord and the love that He shows us every day.  Because our love for Jesus is our motivation for giving, our giving becomes joyful.  Love changes our giving from an obligation to a privilege.

We live in difficult and changing times.  How wonderful it is that, as Christians, we know that there is the certainty that Jesus always reaches out to us and loves us.  May our lives and our giving genuinely reflect His love for us. 

Pastor Salcido

Last Updated: 2/2/2023