Love in Motion

Candice grew up in the church and accepted Christ as her Savior when she was about 10 years old.  As Candice got older, she became less interested in attending church.  By her late teens she lost her faith and rarely came to church anymore.  As a result she made some costly choices in her young adult years and found herself in some very compromising situations, living a lifestyle that was completely contrary to her upbringing and faith in God.  At 28 Candice was tired of life beating her down and decided to recommit her life to Christ.  She and her husband, Isaiah, reconciled their marriage and they were expecting their third child.  They only had one car which Isaiah needed it to commute to work but Candice didn’t use public transportation as an excuse for staying home because it certainly didn’t stop her from running the streets.  Flo and Art Kelly, a seasoned couple in the church, noticed this young couple’s faithfulness, willingness to help whenever asked and their overall transformation.  The Lord had clearly placed them on the heart of the Kelly’s so they prayed for them often.  One day while in prayer the Lord spoke to Flo and told her to bless Candice with a car and without hesitation she shared this prompting with her husband, Art, who readily agreed. 

Flo called Candice and after the standard small talk, told her that they had been watching them for the

past several months, observed how well behaved the children were, their commitment to God, etc.  Candice was surprised and humbled all at the same time.  Flo went on to say she knew firsthand how challenging public transportation could be especially with young children and that she had a car sitting in the front of the house that was drive ready.  All it needed was a tune up and then it would be good to go.  Flo went on to say that they would be willing to sell the car to them for $1.00 and that she and Art would have their son, Arty, service the car at their automotive shop tomorrow as long as Candice and Isaiah agreed to the sale price and to keep it a secret.  Candice could hardly believe her ears.  She had just returned from a car dealership frustrated because there was nothing decent within their budget.  She could barely speak above a whisper as she thanked Flo and told her about the car search adventures.  Flo explained that she would have given the car to Candice, but to avoid drama from others who have a feeling of entitlement, this was the best solution. Candice just had one request which was to keep the personalized plates which said "NU LIF" (new life).  Flo laughed and said of course.

Flo went to report the good news to Art, whom she found clearing out his closet.  She thought this was extremely odd because it was getting kind of late and it certainly wasn’t a time for spring cleaning.  When she asked Art what he was doing, he responded that he was cleaning out his closet.  When she asked why he had decided to do so at 8:00 pm at night he said:  “The Lord told me to do it after we finished praying but I got sidetracked, but when you were on the phone with Candice the Lord said, ‘Art, clean that closet out now or you will be sorry.’  Flo was completely lost at this point because Art’s closet is color coded and more organized than hers, so she just gave him the “blank stare”. 

Art continued, “Baby, I have been disobedient, the Lord told me last month to do this but I procrastinated.  I know God spared my life when I had the cardiac arrest last year.  I never told you this, but God had been dealing with me for the past two years about my health and then when you tried to advise to make healthier choices to my diet and exercise like you I just shut down and didn’t want to hear it.  So when God spoke again tonight, I got so scared that I ran up the stairs and started cleaning my closet out.  Initially I was going to give these clothes to the Goodwill, but when you asked me about giving the car to Candice, I realized that I needed to give these clothes to Isaiah.  He is the exact same size that I was nine months ago before I lost all of this weight.  I would much rather be a blessing to a brother in Christ, that I know will appreciate this stuff as opposed to helping an established business profit off of me.” And with that, Art continued to pull out the suits, slacks, sports jackets, shirts, and jackets that were too large because he had no intention of ever gaining that weight back.  Flo felt compelled to help Art as she reflected on the miracles God performed on her husband.  Art was right, he should have been dead, but God ...  When they were done Art went outside and moved the Zephyr (the car they were giving to Candice and Isaiah) in the garage.  When Flo realized what he was doing she gave him another blank stare.  Before she could ask, he told her he was going to pack the car with the clothes so they would be ready when they picked the car up.  Flo never said another word about the subject.

I am sure most of you will agree that love is an action word.  Flo and Art could have talked about Candice and Isaiah’s need, which they did, and they could have prayed about them, which they did.  But they went a step above and beyond what most “Christians” would even think of doing.  They put their love in motion.

If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? 1 John 3:17 (NLT)

We don’t read about Flo and Art’s monetary wealth because it’s irrelevant.  What is relevant is that they are spiritually rich with compassion, kindness and genuine concern which are the makings of real love.

This message is simple and almost self-explanatory.  While I’m not telling anybody to go out and buy someone a car, give all your clothes away or sell your home and give the money to the poor, what I am suggesting is that when you see a verifiable, worthwhile need and you can fill it you should ask permission of the person(s) if you can help by filling the need.   It’s not rocket science and it’s not that deep.  Just put your love in motion.

Victory Nugget:  I’m not suggesting anything that I myself haven’t done :).    

In His Eternal Love

Tan