Is it Love?

Jesus clearly told us that our first commandment is to love God. The second is to love our neighbor. All of the commandments are summed up in these. It sounds simple, but love is a big, big word. In continuing my reflections on loving others, one of the things I think about is how we so often see loving as helping. And that's true, but I think that we have to be careful with that. Helping does not mean doing. At the PARC as we get to know those who are homeless, we see so many needs. We so badly want to help. It would be so easy for us to just bring them those pants that they need for the job interview or pick them up and take them to church. We want to just give them that $10.00 they need to get their ID. It seems like such a simple and easy thing for us. And I am not saying those things are wrong. I am saying that we are NOT the answer. We can’t FIX the problem. I think that most often in these situations love means to empower them. It is so important for us to help them see that they can find the answer within themselves and that they are well able to overcome these obstacles that are before them. Perhaps it is encouraging them to take advantage of resources that are available, or to make that phone call. What is their next step to get to their goal?  That’s what love does. It helps a person to see their value and to begin to believe in themselves. Perhaps for the first time or maybe again. THAT is the power of the PARC. Empowering them to move forward to the places that they want to go and to become who God has put in them to be. And THAT is between them and God. We are allowed the honor of being a part of that by loving and encouraging them.

And I will tell you that this is my greatest honor in that God has allowed me to be a part of the PARC. I lived in a bubble most of my life. It was a good bubble, but it was a bubble. I was raised in church, met my husband at church, and raised our kids in church. All the things. Then I was a Children’s Pastor for 25 years! And it was a good life. I saw God move and change people in those places as well. But God knew me better than I know myself. He recognized the desires of my heart.

I have always had a passion for people to know their value and to live like that. God went to way too much trouble to create us, any human, for us to be mediocre. I have always believed that He went to all that trouble so that each one could be amazing. The way to find "amazing", is to know God. And the way to know God, is love. That’s it. Simple yet extremely difficult. And that is what we get to do at the PARC.

Someone told me the other day, “Love and let God.” That is it! All of our Core Values are centered around that. Every decision that we make is made around these Core Values with our hearts always asking God, how do we love them more? How do we love them better? And that is the answer. I will be honest. We don’t always like the answer. It means they never run out of chances but what does that even look like? Most of the time it takes all of us working as a team, reminding each other, standing in the gap for one another and walking together to remember what our role is.  Sometimes we have to go home, pray about it, and come back the next day to decide. And when I say ‘us’, I mean us. It takes all of us.

Love is hard work. We need each other. And what I love the most is that when we allow ourselves to be part of something this vast, we open ourselves to BE loved even more. We see God in an even greater way. You will hear over and over that when people come to the PARC, that they are the ones who are blessed. Isn’t that the beauty of love? It never runs out. It only gets bigger and we get the honor and privilege of stepping into that and finding that in the most unlikely of places through the most unlikely people. It is indeed the greatest honor that we are given. To get to love people that we might never have known if not for God leading us to this place and allowing us to be a part of His great work.