And the greatest of these is love

I just finished reading the book of Romans, I think for the first time ever. My goal is to really know the Bible, so I have been trying to really get into the word daily. It seems like every time I read, a chapter a day, I would find a verse that I heard before, but never knew where to find it or a new one stuck out. I enjoyed the book of Romans and learned a lot. However, there is one verse that really has stuck with me because I think it is what being a follower of Christ is all about.

Romans 12:9 says, "Don't just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is evil. Hold tightly to what is good." When I think about Christ's time on earth I think about how he really loved people even when they were sinning. He hated the sin, but He still loved the people. How often, as Christians, do we say we love our brothers and sisters, but really we don't? We judge them for how they dress or look or raise their kids or for a sin they have committed. Romans 15:2 states, "Help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord". This verse is specifically taking about other believers. How can we show love to others or help others if we first can't do it with other believers? It should be easier to love believers and want to help them, but often this is not the case. From my experience, I often prefer to be with non-Christians rather than Christians. I think this goes back to not really feeling loved by other Christians or that they will judge me. One thing God has really been challenging me with is to really love people for who they are. If a person is sinning it is okay to hate the sin, but not the sinner. This can be hard to do, but I know this is what Christ did. If we are dead to our old selves when we accept Christ and now have the opportunity to be as Christ was on this earth, isn't possible to love others while hating the sin as Jesus did?

Also, I wonder where churches (the people not the building) could be if they followed Romans 12:9 and really loved others. I am sure there are some churches who may be following this verse, but I would say the majority are not. Perhaps if churches really loved other people then more non-believers would be interested, especially in the younger generations. They are turned off by how the church is, so what would happen if the church changed to people who really love everyone even when people are sinning and built each other up in the Lord? I imagine more people in the younger generations would see this change and want to take part.

Looking Back Over This Past Year

Life here in Nicaragua is so much slower paced than in the states, which has helped me to focus more on my relationship with God. In this past year I have learned things about myself and about who my God really is. Growing up in a christian church I had heard various times that God loves us, what I did not realize was that his love is measureless and what that means in my life. There is no measure to God´s love, there is nothing I can do to make him love me more or less, his love is never changing. Once I realized this it was freeing, I wake up every morning knowing I am loved and through this non-judgmental love I learn to trust him more and more. All God wants from me is to love him because he first loved me, there is nothing more God wants then to restore his relationship with humans.

Something I have never liked was the fire and brimstone approach, which is why I never wanted to evangelize, but this is not what God intended. If God's focus is to restore our relationship with him shouldn't that show how important relationships are to God? The gift of his love is what should draw people to his side and that is how the great commission should be done and not on a soap box, but through relationships. After being here for a little over a year I can see that is why I am here, to build relationships. We can never know which relationships God will use therefore, we must invest in all of them and remember to always prioritize relationships over everything else in our lives.

Seeing, Hearing and Feeling

I have been reading a devotional book called Free to Pray, Free to Love by Max Oliva. I was reading the chapter on Putting on the Mind and Heart of Christ talking about as one grows closer to Christ ¨we should see the world through his eyes, hear through his ears and feel with his heart¨. Basically, if we are not seeing others in this way we are not growing in Christ because the more we grow in him, our world perception should change. I Corinthians 12:26&27 says, ¨if one part suffers, all parts suffer with it and if one part is honored, all parts rejoice. All of you together are Christ’s body and each of you is part of it¨. Christ’s Love is what binds us together.

I feel in my walk with Christ my perception of the world has changed, especially since being here in Nicaragua. My mind and heart have been more open to the sorrows and joys of others; unfortunately I have seen fewer joys in the people here. I think the poverty and livelihood here is why I have seen more sorrow. There are numerous times to count that I have seen a child washing windows or a mother wheeling around her handicap child begging or people dressed up as clowns doing tricks at stop lights or people selling newspapers, hand towels and water at stop lights all to make money and the list goes on. I feel overwhelmed with sadness at the injustice of how people have to live. The thing that is harder though is poverty and injustice are everywhere here, how can I feel with every person and not become overwhelmed and be unable to function? However, if we are one in the body of Christ and growing in him means seeing and feeling the world more as Christ does, how can I not feel or see the world differently? Romans 12:9, 10 &13 states; ¨Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection and take delight in honoring each other...When God’s people are in need be ready to help them¨. I guess the real question is how does one continue to see and feel the world through Christ’s eyes and not become overwhelmed with helplessness? I am moved to help the people I see, but does that mean I help every person or the better question is what does that help look like? I think this is the question of every MCC volunteer here and I am sure of Christians all over the world.

Machismo

Before coming down to Nicaragua I was aware that the men here can be very machista. This word means that they treat woman as objects, not as equals. For example, it is a regular occurrence to walk down the street and get whistled at and then be called somebody's amor (love), even while walking with my husband. I did not realize how much this would bother me. I see the inequality between men and women everywhere I go. I have ridden many buses and taxis and I have never seen a woman driving. At first I did not think much of it, but the more I observe the more stuff creeps up that screams inequality. In the city one can see women and men both working, but in the country one will only see the men working in the fields with other men. Don't get me wrong the women work, probably harder than the men, but they are cooking, cleaning, watching the kids, carrying water, gathering fire wood, and other things I am sure I have not mentioned.
I saw this first hand a week ago while I was working on a small micro-hydroelectric plant in the country. Seth and I showed up to help the community to build a sand trap, but when we arrived I noticed I was the only female and remained the only female working the entire time. At first I was a bit intimidated, feeling inadequate about how I could really help, then I realized this is a rare occasion to show them that men and woman can work together on projects. For the two days of work not one of them talked with me, except for Seth and my boss. I worked as hard as I could trying to prove a point and at the end of it all I felt pleased. At the very end one man asked me my name and it felt like a small victory.
Nicaraguan women are starting to rise up, but not in the best manner. There is a group of women called the feministas that think women should be over men. I consider myself a free liberated woman, but I don't agree with this mentality. God created men and women as equals, not for one to be over the other. Look at Christ's example about how he treated women and not just the righteous ones, ones that were outcasts. If God wanted women to be treated less than human then would Christ have interacted with so many women in the bible? Both women and men were created in God's image, so equal in God's eyes. Men and women were given different attributes of God, so we can better know God.
I know this is something I will not be able to change in my three year term here, but I feel that God can use me and my husband to show that we are equal in our marriage.