Monday, July 11, 2011

When loving your neighbor is out of your comfort zone.

 Love God? Love People.

ALL people, really? Even those who make me uncomfortable? Annoyed? Even those who scare me?

Today I visited my grandmother's house. I will be moving back there at the end of the summer. I was shocked to see how much the neighborhood has changed in 3 years since i lived there. The people changed, the homes looked different.  It's the ghetto. No I am not messing with you. South San Diego, particularly the area I will be moving back to, is one of the most poorest and dangerous areas in San Diego. Taking a look around, I hear people yelling at one another, I see unkempt lawns, there is broken glass in the middle of the street. I hear music that is way too loud. I could go on and on.

So how do I react to this?

At first I was annoyed and angry. Part of why we moved in the first place was to get away from this place. But here we are again.

Then it hit me. Why am I acting like I am better then these people? I grew up here,  I grew up with these people..I know where exactly they are coming from. What makes me so different? I was disgusted with myself.

I took another look around I see brokenness. I see families that need Christ. I see a community that is in dire need of the gospel.

As much as I am scared of moving back here. I can see one reason why God might want our family back here. To show His love to our neighbors.

I say I love people. But do I really? It is so easy to love when we are in our comfort zone.
When we are in our comfort zone, we have a 'I'm happy so i can love you' mentality. Believe me, I have been guilty of this. It's really easy to love people who are like you. It's comforting, it gives you a false sense that you are truly loving people.

But it's when God pulls away the things we cling on to for comfort (a community, people, titles, etc) that we are truly challenged to genuinely love people and love them in the midst of our own brokenness.

God is pulling me out my comfort zone. He is challenging me to fully love those around me. That means all people from all backgrounds. People with different viewpoints, lifestyles, etc.  Most importantly he is challenging me to cling to him as my ultimate comfort.

This summer has been one of change. If you know me well enough. I absolutely dislike change. I try my best to resist it.

But this is a good thing. I am looking forward to this opportunity to grow in Him. Even though I have grown so much in the past year alone, there is so much more that I still have to learn.

God is constantly humbling me. Just when I think I got it all together. He smacks me across the head and shows me my faults. Boy, are there a ton of them.

2 comments:

  1. I am so proud of you girl. There's good stuff in this blog and I love the ways you are responding to God.

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  2. Thanks, Michelle. God is doing some crazy-awesome things! =]

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