How I Got to Where I'm Going #2: Love in Action

With less than one week remaining before shipping off to Central America, I continue to reflect upon those stepping stones that have led me to choose the life of missionary. I firmly believe that my faith is call to action. Being a follower of Christ requires a vibrant, living faith. I wrote the following reflection for the SEARCH retreat in February 2007, my senior year of high school. I have kept the talk completely intact, so I realize that some of it sounds kind of funny if you've never been on SEARCH. It is amazing to read these words and see that even several years ago God was preparing me for the vocation I am living now. Here it goes:

Hello, my name is Kevin Kuehl. My talk for you is Love in Action. Please join hands for a prayer:

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

God of Love, You continually call each of us to action. Help us to respond to that call with loving enthusiasm. We thank you for Your amazing gift of love and the ability to share that love. Help us to love one another as You love each of us. Fill us with Your Spirit of Love that we may do everything for the glory of Your Name. Amen.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Take a minute to think about the people that you love…You probably immediately thought about your mom, your dad, your brothers and sisters, or your closest friends. Now, think about all of the people that God loves…That’s right, God loves everyone, and He is calling all of us to do the same. God has given all of us His love, and now He is calling us to share it with our families, our friends, our neighbors, our enemies…with everyone. But we can’t just sit here and say, “Sure, I love everybody”; we have to do something even greater. We must respond to God’s call with action. Please open your Bible to page 1398 James chapter 2 verses 14 to 18:

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well," but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead. Indeed someone might say, "You have faith and I have works." Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works.

The action that we are called to take is giving of ourselves to others just as Christ gave Himself for us; that’s what love is. Love is more than just an emotion; it is a call to act as Christ would. And I would like for you write that down. Maybe acting in love means that you smile at someone, you go out of our way to help someone in need, you accept another person for who they are, or you visit with someone who is lonely. These are only a few examples of the ways that we can live out God’s call to love one another. Please open your Bible to page1106, Matthew chapter 25 verses 32 to 41:

And all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.' Then the righteous will answer him and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?' And the king will say to them in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Jesus is calling us to share in his universal love, and the only way we can do this is to see Christ in everyone and be Christ to everyone. Love in action means seeing Christ in others and letting Christ be seen in you. And I would like for you to write that down. Love in action means seeing Christ in others and letting Christ be seen in me.

Two years ago when I was on a mission trip in Mexico, I was attempting to talk to a little boy who was playing by himself behind the soup kitchen where we were working that day. He was obviously very poor. With what little Spanish I knew, I asked him his name, and he asked me mine. After talking some more about baseball and where I was from, he eventually offered me some of the chips that he was eating. They seemed to be a special treat. I ate one, but he kept offering me more. Eventually, I found myself with the whole bag in my hand. I tried several times to give them back to him, but he kept insisting that they were a gift for me and refused to take them back. At that moment I saw Christ in that little boy. Even though he barely knew me, he appreciated what I was doing so much that he gave me all that he had. This act of love showed me that Christ is in all of us, and that Christ’s love reaches us through the actions of others.

At the end of my sophomore year, one of my classmates, who happens to be an exchange student from South Korea, was looking for a place to live during the next school year. He kept begging me to help him out. Eventually, when it seemed that he couldn’t find anywhere else to live, I somewhat reluctantly told him that he could stay with my family. Both of my older brothers had recently moved out of the house, so adding one new resident didn’t really seem like a big deal. Until this year at Christmas, no one in my family realized the impact that we have made on this young man’s life just by letting him be a part of our family. His Christmas present to us was a beautiful letter that explained how he felt. It seems that for the two years before he came to live with my family, he had felt very alone. He told us how much it meant to have more than just a place to stay. He explained that just waking up to a friendly face and having people that showed interest in him completely changed his attitude. He finally felt loved, and we hadn’t even noticed. This made me realize what huge difference a little love can make.

Of course, Love is not always easy; In fact, Acting in love is hard work that involves sacrifice. And I would like for you to write that down. Christ’s death on the Cross is our supreme example of this sacrificial love, and He expects us to live by his example. The best way to show our love for Christ is to imitate him. Please open your Bible to page 1416 first John chapter 3 verses 16 to 18:

The way we came to know love was that he laid down his life for us; so we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If someone who has worldly means sees a brother in need and refuses him compassion, how can the love of God remain in him? Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.

Christ is calling each of us to live in His love. How will you respond? My song for you is “With my own Two Hands” by Ben Harper.