Love God. Love people.

After 22 years of marriage, I love him better than I did on that hot day in St. Charles, Mo, when I married him. That's saying something--because I really loved him a lot then!

To love God, love people--that's the center of the mark. --"Center of the Mark" by 4Him

That is a REALLY old song reference, but it's one I really love. There's truth there, I think. Keep the main thing the main thing, as a colleague likes to say. Love God. Love people. The other stuff works itself out. It's been an interesting thing to live across an ocean from the States and watch Facebook in this season of campaigns, politics, and heated debate about chicken. Oh, I know, I know...it's not really a debate about chicken, because nobody is denying that the chicken is delicious. (I was discussing this with some MKs who were staying with us this past week, and Hannah blurted out, "Why can't the delicious chicken unite us?" If these weren't my real teeth, I'd have dropped them on the floor from laughing so hard. She is a funny chickadee.) The debate, the reaction to opinions of a private citizen who simply responded to a question...it's puzzling to the rest of the world. One Russian friend called the U.S. a 'kindergarten country,' where people throw tantrums because others don't agree with them. OUCH. And I understand the issues surrounding the issue, I really do. I get the idea of a culture war, of traditions, of definitions that make one side comfortable and the other enraged. I get it. I really do.  And I'm not saying these aren't important issues. But they aren't the most important issue, right? 

I've been thinking about what God really wants from me a lot lately. Not from us as Christians, but from me, Kellye Michelle Hooks, individually and specifically. I've been studying, praying, reading my Bible even more than usual...and really, really listening. And I have to be honest with you--what I hear from God does not have a single thing to do with politics, sides, culture wars or any of the other things that eat our lives as American Christians. I have come to the conclusion that when I meet my Savior face to face, He is not going to chastise me for not talking enough about politics. He's not going to judge me over my lack of facebook posts about politics, political candidates, or whatever the day's hot-button issue might be. But I'm pretty sure I disappoint Him when I fail to love the folks He has graciously placed in my life. Whether that means Marc and the kids, my parents and extended family, my friends and colleagues, or the beggar who sits at our Ubahn station every day, I'm pretty sure that is where I am definitely not going to measure up in His eyes. And so lately, my daily prayer is for brokenness. A heart like His. COMPASSION like His. Do you know how many times in the Gospels it says that Jesus had compassion for the people? A bunch. You know why? Because He loves people. And I want to love people like He loves people.

Should we speak the truth in love? Absolutely. But here's the thing about that--when I'm doing that, I had better be on my knees beforehand about my own sins. Today's hot topic isn't something I personally struggle with, but I struggle with a negative, critical spirit. I struggle with weight issues because I eat emotionally (because evidently Jesus isn't enough comfort for me in hard times) and because I don't like to exercise (even though the Bible clearly says my body is His temple). I'm going to be brutally honest and vulnerable here--the more I know Jesus, the more I am convinced of the vastness of my sin. Mine. Not yours. Not that group that doesn't agree with me. Mine. Kellye's. And the more I understand the magnitude of my own sin, the more Jesus gives me compassion for others' struggles and a heart to love people. I do not naturally love people on my own. I can be mean and vitriolic and bitter when left to my own devices. But every morning without fail, the Savior of the whole world meets me at my desk and pursues my rotten heart. Every morning He grants me new mercies. He is faithful and true and full of lovingkindness to me and mine, and He enables me to love out of the overflow of His absolute goodness to me. I DO stand amazed in the presence of Jesus, the Nazarene, and wonder how He could love me, a sinner condemned, unclean. But oh--how marvelous is Jesus' love for me and for you and for the whole world.

Whatever your viewpoint--and I'm so thankful for friends and former colleagues and former students whose viewpoints differ greatly from mine, but who still love me--I want you to know that Jesus loves you. He died for you. I'm so thankful for the chance to love all kinds of different people. Whether you eat chicken on Wednesday or Friday or are a vegan and don't touch the stuff, Jesus loves you. He absolutely does. He told me so this morning. :) My challenge to all my friends is to get to know the real Jesus. His goodness, mercy, love and compassion are yours for the claiming. He died for you out of love, just like He died for me. And that, my friends, is good news no matter what you eat. Wherever you are in the world, I pray that you know the great love of the One who died for you, and that your husband is coming home from the Olympics for your birthday, too. Blessings to you and yours!

His,
Kellye