Becoming

Sometimes, things in life just all seem to line up. That’s when I know God must be trying to tell me something. 

I think God gives us spiritual seasons in our lives, and each of these seasons either makes new growth spring forth, matures us into summer, makes old leaves change new colors, or makes wintered things die completely away. For me, these seasons come with a theme, often in the form of one word. 

A few months back, I received one of these words. 

I was feeling particularly discouraged because I see the woman I want to be and how far I am from actually being her. But instead of lingering in disappointment about how I haven’t yet arrived, the Lord gave me hope for the journey of getting there. Instead of finality (which says “I’ll never get there”), God gave me the word Becoming. He has given me a vision of who he wants me to be, and though I am not there yet, I am becoming, and there is joy in that journey. 

Then I pick up Bob Goff’s newest book Everybody, Always, (Go read it. So good.) and it’s all about becoming love. And so I get a better glimpse of who exactly I am becoming.  

Then I happen to be reading 1 John, where John mentions at least three times about how “God’s love is perfected in us”. That’s the Bibley way of saying the same thing - becoming love. And how does John say to do it? By abiding in Christ, loving God, and obeying him. And how do we obey? By loving one another. This is how God’s love is perfected in us; this is how we become love. Simple as that. 

So I receive the word becoming. Becoming what? Becoming love. How? By abiding in Christ, loving him, and loving others. 

The following days, I bounced out of bed and bounded into the hospital for I had a new word, a new purpose, and a new joy. I started loving my patients and colleagues with a fresh love. It was almost as if I was seeing Jesus in the bed instead of my patients. I started caring for my babies like they were Jesus in a manger. And I started becoming a little more like the woman I want to be. Maybe I was even becoming love. 

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One of my fellow African nurse colleagues converted from Islam to Christianity later in life. According to his story, it took ten years of steady influence. People who loved Jesus loved him, and by their life examples, he experienced the love and beauty of Jesus. And then one day, he decided to follow Jesus himself. 

I’m only here in Togo for one year, so I may never see results like that, but I’m so thankful I get to participate in the relay. And I pray my life and love show the beauty of Jesus in a way that will make others want to follow him. I pray the same for you, too. May you start to see people around you like they are Jesus in the flesh, and may you love them like he so extravagantly loves us. May you become love and live a life of love that makes other people taste the goodness and see the beauty of Jesus in such a way that it makes them want to know and follow him, too. 

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All of this love talk is not an excuse to not be bold in our talking about Jesus. We can’t just live a life of love and hope that people will infer that we follow Christ. We can’t just hope they will ask questions and then figure it out on their own, for that places the weight of responsibility to search for truth on a person who does not yet know truth. (In other words, how can we expect people to ask for something they don’t even know they are missing?) Rather, we who know the truth bear the responsibility of telling those who are still searching. In other words, we have to be bold...not only in deeds but in words as well. But it all starts with loving like Jesus loved. 

We love others extravagantly. And we speak the name of Jesus because we love him, too. In all that, we trust that God is already at work in bringing those who are hungry and thirsty. We just be available. And ready. And intentional. God does the rest.

I used to think of missions as God sending me somewhere to do a task that couldn’t be done without me. You know, if I’m not a nurse here, who will be? If I don’t tell them about Jesus, who will? 

It’s motivational, but it’s not true. 

That’s making me way, way, way too essential. The truth is, I’m way less important than I thought I was. 

Now I see God more as a father in a workshop, doing the work that he is so good at doing in the world. We are just his children, whom he asks, “Would you like to work with me today?” We say yes, and he says “Follow me.” He shows us what he is doing and lets us hold some nails or place our hand with his on the hammer. He makes us feel important when really, we are not. He is doing the work; he just delights in us being with him. 

And you know what? The more time we spend with him in the workshop, the more his love rubs off on us, and before we know it, we are becoming more like him. We are becoming love.