What Does Love Look Like

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and all your strength and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself" Luke 10:27 Love God and love people. That's it. I have been thinking about this a lot lately. When we love people, we love God more. When we love God more, we love people. But what does it really look like to love people? For one thing, it takes people to love people. As our pastor says, it takes community to love people. I know that most of us can agree with this, but I believe that it is bigger than that. True community is being with people that are not like us, even people that we don't like or agree with. "And if you are good to those who are good to you, what credit is it? Even sinners do that." Luke 6:33.

I think that one of the greatest lessons I have learned by being a part of the PARC is how to love people. There are so many here that live a life that perhaps we would not approve of. But I am not sure that is the point. I don't think that we are supposed to decide if their lifestyle or choices are right or wrong. It isn't up to me to judge whether or not they are walking out the consequences of their decisions. The point is that, as one of my Pastor friends said, when I love those that are not like me I get to see the face of God.  As I have loved them, my heart is expanded. 

I have known Cristan since right after the PARC opened. Since then she has steadily declined. I realize this isn't one of the 'success' stories I would share when I speak or share about the PARC. People are truly changed when they come here. But Cristan has taught me to love. Oh my word, I love that girl. Over the years I have seen her ups and downs, and my love for her has grown. The last time we saw Cristan she was angry and violent. She called us all kinds of names and stormed out of our door. She actually broke our door. You know what happened? I saw God's heart for her, and I loved her. Several months later someone told me that Cristan wanted to see me outside. As I stepped out she stood there so dirty and desperate. She was so, so dirty and she had tears in her eyes. I don't know how long it has been since she has had a shower, but she looked at me and said, "Ms. Valerie, I'm sorry. Can I come back?" Even now as I write this my heart breaks, and in that breaking it is expanded. As she walked in I gave her a big hug. I will tell you that the problem with hugs is that you end up smelling like that. It gets on your clothes and in your hair, and you smell like that the rest of the day. But isn't' that the point? Isn't that the point that when it comes to loving people we might end up smelling like them?

I don't have to decide whether I agree with her choices or lifestyle. I don't have to 'fix' her. As Jesus said, He just wants me to love her, and it is in loving her that I have seen more of God. I have learned more of what love is and I am richer for it. My love for everyone has grown because I have learned to love her. Truly love. I also believe that it is in the love that people are truly changed. Will she change? I don't know. That's up to God. God has just told me to love her, and I am grateful for that.