Do You Love Me?

A starving child. A rebellious teen. A hardened criminal. An angry and hurting foster child. A rambunctious kid. A single mother. An elderly person. A divorced couple. A widow/widower. A young person sitting in the youth bench. A pastor. A soldier. A newlywed.

Face after face. Situation after situation. All ages, backgrounds, attitudes, personalities, beliefs. One question.

Do you love me?

The Savior asks. Do you care what happens to me and how I feel? Will you spend time with me, talk to me, be my friend? Would you do anything for me, even give up your life?

“Of course, Jesus!”

Then why don’t you?

The people and situations appear again, but this time Jesus is there. Jesus is the starving child, the rebellious teen, the hardened criminal, the wearing-you-out person, the pastor, the sibling, the bum on the street, the scarred veteran.

Do you love me? Really?

For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
Then shall they also answer him, saying,
Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you,
Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

Matthew 25:42-45 (KJV)

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Priceless‘s next issue is themed agape. This question, “asked” by different people, began running through my head today, and inspired me to write (a blog post and article). 😊

This topic seems to keep coming up for me, through different things I hear and read and think. Do I remember every person I come into contact with is made in the image of God and is loved by Him and has an eternal soul that will spend eternity in one of two places? Do I show them Jesus, even if they already know Him and have accepted Him as Savior? Do I love them, with a Christian/brotherly/unconditional/pure/strong love–agape love that only comes from God?

… But I wanna second glance / So give me a second chance / To see the way You’ve seen the people all along
Give me Your eyes for just one second / Give me Your eyes so I can see / Everything that I keep missin’ /
Give Your love for humanity / Give me Your arms for the broken-hearted / The ones that are far beyond my reach /
Give me Your heart for the ones forgotten / Give me Your eyes so I can see

Brandon Heath, “Give Me Your Eyes”