Heartbroken

I have been meaning to write for weeks about our family's mission statement. Months ago, Erich and I prayed about and discussed how we felt God was calling our family to live in our neighborhood, community and world. We found a verse, and then a theme in Scripture that resonated with our gifts and desires. I blogged about it. We talked about how to act on it. And then life got crazy and we haven't pursued it much since.

But I've been thinking about our calling again, as a MOPS project we have coming up involves a plaque with our statement. So in trying to make our 3 verse mission statement concise enough for a plaque, I've come up with: "Be a lamp on a stand...Keep open house...Be generous with our lives." I still don't know what exactly that looks like in the context of our young family -- a new baby on the way turning our home, time and life upside down. But I am refocused to figure out the next step towards which God is calling us -- that first step of obedience that will result in a second step and on to a life living it out.

Some of this focus has come from my renewed passion to live for and like Jesus that has come as I've committed to regularly spending time in the Bible and prayer. And yesterday at church, I was reminded how important it is to be heartbroken. For my heart to break for people who don't know Jesus the same way His does. To love people with the overwhelming love that Jesus does. We had a special guest for both our Sunday school hour and the sermon time. During Sunday school, he showed a video of his band's performance, where at one point a scene is acted out where a woman is abused and this guy David, portraying Jesus, carries her out and weeps for her. He is feeling her pain, her brokenness. And it hit me. I have in many ways hardened my heart against that kind of compassion. I hear the reports on the news, I hear of struggles people I am distantly connected to are having and it makes me sad momentarily. But my heart doesn't break. I am not regularly asking God to give me His love for the people who are different, who are hard for me to love.

My desire is that will change beginning now. Yesterday I was reminded of my need to ASK God to give me a piece of His heart. Loving people does not come naturally and I must be intentional and ask God to give me His compassion. And as God gives me His love for others, I will also be better able to "Be a lamp on a stand...keep open house...be generous with my life." And that's how God is calling me to live, like Him.