Loving Like Jesus: It Is Possible!

Recently I read the account of a 16-year-old girl, Shannon, driving to school.  She apparently thought it more important to put on her make-up than to keep her eyes on that old country road.  As she was adjusting the rear-view mirror, she caught sight of some type of movement immediately before she heard the thud and felt the jolt.  She willed with everything in her that it was just a wild animal coming out of the ditch.  Most unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.  Stopping and running back, the scene revealed a woman face down in the grass and a mangled bicycle.  Panic stricken, the young girl ran to the nearest house in sight to call 911.  The ambulance took almost an hour to arrive.  The woman was pronounced dead at the scene.

After the police left her house, a grief-stricken Shannon received a phone call.  A neighbor who knew the woman’s family called to tell the girl about the husband’s response.  She was shocked to hear that he wondered about the well-being of the driver; he asked if she was hurt or if she knew it wasn’t her fault.  She was even more disturbed by his invitation to his home the day before the funeral–she knew she couldn’t refuse.  When Shannon entered, it wasn’t an angry man approaching her, but a man with wide open arms offering her love, forgiveness and mercy.  With his embrace, their tears flowed freely and then the man shared the story of his wife’s life.

She had been a Wycliffe Bible translator for many years.  She walked close to God and there was no limit to that intimacy.  She had even recently mentioned having the feeling that God was calling her home and therefore took every opportunity live each day as if it were her last.  This husband encouraged Shannon by assuring her that God did not intend for the accident to ruin her life–He knew she had the strength to handle it.   He informed Shannon that God wanted to use her.

And then the husband uttered words that would never be forgotten: “As a matter of fact, I am passing Marjorie’s legacy of being a godly woman on to you.  I want you to love Jesus just as Marjorie did.  I want you to let Him use you for His glory, Shannon.”  The mind-boggling expressions of love didn’t stop there.  He didn’t sue the ambulance for taking so long to get to the accident.  He didn’t sue Shannon or her family.  Periodically he would check to see how Shannon was doing–which lasted well into two decades.

Do you want to know how to love like Jesus?

The above story should give you a good start.  It is possible to forgive.  It is possible to love after a deep wounding.  It is possible to put self aside and offer the same type of mercy Jesus offers.  It isn’t natural, but supernatural–and possible.  With God all things are possible. (Mark 10:27)   I will admit I am inspired by this account of the move of God in one girl’s life.

I called upon the Lord in distress: the Lord answered me, and set me in a large place. The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me? Psalm 118:5-6

Where do you need to be a supernatural witness of God’s great, great love and forgiveness?