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Jesus' love
by Kathleen Angell I was thinking of Love today, and thinking on the Lord's Love, and I wanted to write about audacious Love. Whether that word is fitting or not, I don't know. Someone once corrected me and probably in a way they should have, about being audacious, but I have found a love in Jesus that overflows it's bounds, and it is the only word at the moment that sounded with the exuberance that I wanted to burst out with and share. In our walk there are two orphans in Kenya, the most beloved and precious girls. A lady recently sent enough money for them to have a shopping trip and do girly things, and get a dress each and a new pair of sandals. How kind of her to do that. These girls are orphans due to aids, and had been pretty much shunned in their need by relatives and sent off to a day orphanage which did not feed them enough for strength, especially with the care needed for their circumstances of health. It has since closed, but our friend shared with us about them and all of us wanted to do something, and a relative had taken them in, a dear kind woman, and so we began also to help by sending in some food each week and needs as we were able. I have come to love them so, by Jesus' love for them so present. What a delight they are. What a delight to be a part of their lives!!! I see their pictures during the week and the Love of Jesus goes out to them. And I am undone again, for the love of Jesus that He feels for those girls. As it is for every one of us that so needs Him. Now after they got their dresses and shoes I sent a picture of them to the lady who made that possible because our friend sent pictures to me. And today as I thought on these beautiful girls pictures and my conversations with this lady, about how lovely they are, how delighted to be able to get the outfits, how much more we are blessed than they to be a part of their lives, as I stood at the sink and thought on how these things began a long time ago in me and a memory of a little story came to mind that I loved as a child. I remember my favorite story. Now the girls that received the dresses were truly shunned by family. How sad. And I guess I could stay there stuck on that, but I have to admit I love them being doted on for this very reason, I enjoy displaying them in front of those folks now, how loved they are, and most of all, I love them and being a part of their lives because of Love's sake. But in the childhood story, a little girl was left in the care of someone, an orphanage, and was ridiculed because she had nothing and was poor, and even when someone tried to help it was in half measure, by choice or not, I can't remember, but material was gotten and some dresses made, all alike. So she had clothes but they all looked alike. Though no one believed her that her father would one day come and take care of her, at the end of the story as we all probably know, but as a child somehow this delighted me, and I loved it, ...her father came and got her, and even got her all new clothes and loved her so much as a Father would, and took her away to live with him in their home forever. He loved her so, and doted on her for this love he had for her was so great and had missed her so very much. Now as a child, I was raised by my dear folks and my grandmother. For some reason beyond comprehension, and as a child I didn't think on it other than the misery of it, she didn't seem to even like me even as a small child and treated me with a different attitude and it seemed I was always the reciprocate of the spankings and the blame for whatever was done. Maybe a child's memory, who knows, maybe not. But it went through a child's lifetime. Because she was the one who lived with us and was caregiver to us during our days. But when I met Jesus, one of the dearest healings I received was to come to love my grandmother who passed away, so very much. So completely, in so different a light. Without darkness at all. I often wish I could hug her and tell her how much I love her. Dote on her. And I also found out in later years through a relative, when an older adult myself, that my grandmother as a young girl or woman had her own family misuse her, a mother and brother, had treated her very badly. They stole what she had canned up to sell over a summer, for school, or something like that and sold it all and took off and spent what she had worked so hard for. That was the story that came down, and it may or may not have been exactly like that, but they had somehow hurt her terribly in life and caused her a lot of harm. And though she had passed away, I understood better why she was hurt and her actions and lack perhaps and how much she only needed to know Jesus' love now. As I thought on these dear girls in Kenya and their new dresses, I thought on my story of the little girl and thought on Jesus' love and my gramma, and the love I felt which I will call audacious, flowed out like a water flow splashing over my grandmother's memory and thoughts of her and how I wanted to, when I meet her in heaven per chance and love hopes all things, I want to throw my arms around her and let the Love of Jesus flow like a river over her and tell her how loved she is. Hug her so and tell her she is so very dearly loved. And how glad I am that here among those on the earth I have often and constant opportunity by Jesus, to let the audacious Love of God go to those who are here now, and love them like a wild girl, and a River spout, and hug them and tell them how very much they are loved and dear and cared for. And mean it with all the Love of Jesus that is present with me. And He has given me Love and gives it again and again, and I am thankful so much to Him for this that is His. It is the Father's heart, His love for the son that came home to Him, He grabbed him and loved him so much. That is this Love of Jesus that I feel, His Father's Love that so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son for us that whoever would come to him, would not perish, but have eternal life. And my darlings, if you can, it is the dresses and clothing of the Father in that story for His little child. And though others have mistreated and didn't do right and didn't understand, and misused and harmed, she believed her Father would come for her and He did. And that was a story but our Lord is true. And that story was about her earthly father and a fictional story, but ours is about our Heavenly Father and it is true. He was that Father that loved His child so. And He clothed His child as a Father would, and loved her and cared for her and took her away and made a home for her, holding His precious child and loving her. Completely different from the things she had suffered at the hands of others. Now safe, in the arms of her Father. Dressed and on display of His Love for her. And He even parades us in the presence of our enemies. To show His love for us, and to make ashamed those who have done not well. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever would believe in Him would not perish but have everlasting life. And now I am free to love those girls in Kenya, free to love in a audacious love, boldly and completely, because I have been clothed in an audacious kind of love from Jesus. Not only that, but I can love others, and not only that, but even look to loving the relatives in that audacious love of Jesus Christ because He parades us in our new clothing in the presence of our enemies and our enemies are not flesh and blood but principalities and powers and wicked spirits, and it is to the saving of souls that we look to and to the hugging of the necks of those who did us wrong in some way, and to love them in the audacious love of our Lord. It is Him, our Lord, our God, Who has given this. How thankful. My name is Kathleen Angell. My life was dramatically changed when the Lord made Himself real to me. We have an outreach to folks experiencing shelter and street life. It is a great joy to us. Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |