Shine in Love

Philippians 2:15 says, “That ye may be blameless and harmless the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.” How can we “shine as lights” in such a dark and sinful world? We can share God’s love with one another.

I am sitting at my computer after almost three days without electricity. There are over 200 people in my city that are missing. Houses have been destroyed. The hospitals are so full that they have had to turn people away. People have been killed.

It is a fact that I live in a broken and hurting world. On Wednesday, April 27, several deadly tornadoes tore through the southern United States. They left miles of destruction behind them. Now that the storms are over, there are people all throughout my city and state that are left with nothing.

How can I shine in such a dark circumstance? By sharing God’s love with the hurting people around me.

What is love?

Paul described it like this in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a: “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never fails…”

This is not your typical hearts and flowers, romantic comedy kind of love. What Paul is talking about here is true, pure love. It is patient and kind. It does not envy, is not proud or boastful. It is not selfish and is not easily angered. It thinks no evil thoughts. It celebrates the truth. It withstands all trials. It is filled with hope and it doesn’t give up. This love never fails.

This kind of love is not something that comes naturally to us humans. It is a fruit of Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) – a kind of love that we can only get from God. It is the kind of love that God has for us. It is the kind of love that Jesus felt when He died on the cross for our sins.

I love that Paul used the word “charity” in his letter to the people at Corinth. When you think about giving to a charity, you usually don’t expect to get anything in return, right? We give charity to people that sometimes don’t deserve it. We sacrifice when we give to charity – with our time, money or both.

This love is charity. It is unconditional. It expects nothing in return. It is sometimes not deserved. And sometimes, we must make sacrifices to share it with others.

It is a kind of love that is hard to understand and hard to share. But Jesus commanded us to try.

In John 13:34-35, Jesus told His disciples, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another, as I have loved you… By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

In the last few days, I have seen some of God’s people do an extraordinary job of demonstrating His love. Churches all around my town have come together to provide disaster relief, food, shelter, financial and emotional support and prayer for the people affected by the recent storms. One church in town was actually hit by the tornado, and most of the church building was destroyed, but their members have been working constantly out of a trailer in their parking lot to supply others with water, food and first aid. These people have experienced a huge loss of their own, but they are still serving others. The only way to explain their selfless acts is God’s love.

The outpouring of love in the communities around me has been inspiring. It is so good to see God’s people doing what Jesus would do! But sharing God’s love is not just something we should do when bad things happen. Sharing God’s love is something we should do every single day.


This is an excerpt from the May 2011 Young Women Active for Christ Bible Study. I will post a link to the study as soon as it is published online. Please continue to be in prayer for Tuscaloosa and all the areas affected by these storms. I know that better days are coming, and that we will get through this - because of God's love for us. It is my prayer that we will not miss any opportunities to share the love of Christ as we rebuild this city.