Another way to show love

When our children were small, one of them developed whooping cough from the immunization shot. He would cough until he was not getting enough air, turn blue, pass out, then breathe. With so much coughing, his little rib cage became misshapen. Finally, the doctor suggested steam. We had a bathroom that was tiled floor to ceiling, so I filled the tub with hot water and sat in there with him.

In a few days, he began to recover and survived this ordeal. He has been healthy and strong ever since. As for me, that sick spell involved an entire month in which I never slept longer than two hours at a time. At the time, I wasn’t thinking about myself. I was concerned only about my children and this child, and how I could take care of that little boy and get him well again.

This morning I’m reading in 1 Thessalonians and reminded of what those long days and nights were like, and that this is what the love of God is like also:

But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children. So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us. For you remember, brethren, our labor and toil; for laboring night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God. (1 Thessalonians 2:7-9)

Paul was what is now called a bi-vocational pastor. The congregation at Thessalonica may have been able to support him, but he didn’t want to burden them. Instead, he had another job; he was a tent-maker as well as their spiritual leader. He put his own comfort aside so that they didn’t need to worry about his needs as well as their own.

The love of God is like that. It means when I love others I will put my own comfort and convenience aside for their sake. It is giving of myself to the point that I’m not even thinking about myself. Instead, the needs of others take priority and if I can meet those needs, I will do so, recognizing that it will cost me something, but not concerned about that cost to myself.

In this culture, the prevailing attitude is “me first.” I see it as a driver on the streets, a shopper in the stores, and in almost all areas of life out there. These days, people maneuver their vehicles around town without signaling their turns, cutting in on other drivers, and shoving their way into line. Some act as if they are the only people on the road. As my daughter says, the problem with people is that everyone is thinking only about themselves.

Yet I cannot do anything about other people (except complain, which is a waste of energy). I can only deal with my own self, or at least confess my selfishness and ask God to help me be considerate toward others.

Actually, God wants me to be more than considerate. I’m to live in His love which shows up much like what Paul did in Thessalonica. I’m also to be willing to care about others to the point that I will give of myself, concerned that I not be a burden to them but only a support and encouragement.

This is one more way to demonstrate the love of God that He sheds abroad in my heart through faith in Jesus Christ.