"My mission is to model and impart an understanding of God's love to this generation through service and worship."
Little did I know how this mission statement was to play out 15 years later. All I knew when I sat down to define my calling in life was that I wanted to show people God's love. I wanted them to know and understand just how much God loves them. And the only way I knew how to show folks was to serve them. For me, that's what worship is -- a lifestyle of service.
Nowadays I call this lifestyle of service Crazy Love. The term was originally coined by Francis Chan, but my church and I have kind of hijacked it. Mother Teresa is often quoted as saying that "small things done with great love can change the world." Most people think differently. They think to change the world you've got to do something extraordinary. But I think Mother Teresa had it right; love changes the world.
Changing the world, for me, starts at home. I've been extremely blessed to be able to live out my mission statement in small town Chillicothe, Ohio for the past several years. I get to work with amazing people from my church and different churches around town. I have the privilege of getting other people excited about showing Crazy Love locally, regionally, and globally by organizing and participating in various Crazy Love projects through my home church, Centerpoint.
Here's the thing -- Crazy Love can be (and should be) a lifestyle for every follower of Christ. Like I said before, it's simple. You've probably even shown Crazy Love to someone just this week without even knowing it. Showing Crazy Love is as easy as:
- buying the guy behind you a cup of coffee
- helping a single mom with her groceries at the store
- mowing your neighbor's grass
- listening to the elderly man at the nursing home share his war stories
Jesus tells us in Mark 12:30-31 that the greatest commandments are to love God and to love people. When we show others the grace and love of Jesus through small acts of service, we are showing them Crazy Love.
In what ways have you shown Crazy Love this week?
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