What If Loving God Is As Simple As a Three Dollar Donation And a Poorly Crafted Letter?
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
Matthew 22:37 (NIV)
Lesson #4 on a Journey to a Water Well...
One day in April 2014, when my husband had finished reading "Kisses from Katie" to our children, my five-year-old son, Ben, marched into the kitchen with his wallet. Methodically, he withdrew three one-dollar bills and laid them on the counter. He looked at me and said, "Momma, write this down and send it to Katie. 'Dear Katie, We love the poor people.'"
I tried to conceal my laughter as I assured Ben of God's delight. However, I had no intention of sending three dollars and "we love the poor people" to Katie. With a big hug and lots of praise, I sent Ben out to play.
Ben reminded me of his money and letter almost daily. One afternoon while my two oldest completed homework and my youngest clung to my calf, Ben asked with exasperation, "When will you send my letter?". I relented. "Right now. Give me some paper."
I was simultaneously proud of Ben and ashamed of myself. I didn't have the bandwidth to compose a carefully crafted letter to the author of a book God had used to challenge my faith, and I felt so financially strapped I gave nothing to supplement Ben's gift of three one-dollar bills.
Ironically, Ben's $3 donation and a poorly crafted letter was an answer to my prayer, but it came in such an odd package I didn't recognize it. For months, I prayed God would teach me how to love Him with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength.
If loving God meant we walked around in a daze of spiritual ecstasy or praise or needed to sell everything we own and move to Africa, I was in trouble. The devil wanted me to believe it was impossible to love God. Most days, I didn't feel very loving, and the devil was doing his best to convince me whatever I was offering God; wasn't good enough.
God knew the sincerity of my prayer, and He didn't want me to miss His answer. So, He used my 5-year-old son's determination and demands to deliver my request.
On that sunny afternoon in April, Ben's $3 donation and the poorly crafted letter were the fulfillment of the greatest commandment. God was teaching a lesson.
The Holy Spirit used Scripture to teach how Ben's gift demonstrated the greatest commandment. First, Jesus struggled with anxiety and overwhelming sorrow in the garden of Gethsemane. It doesn't sound like spiritual ecstasy. And it was the thought of going to the cross that plagued Him with this anxiety and depression. He didn't want to go to the cross, and He asked God if there was any other way. But when God said there was no other way, Jesus did what He was sent to do. He chose the cross. He chose to obey despite how He felt.
"This is love for God: to obey His commands." (1 John 5:3, NIV)
Next, the Bible says your heart is where your treasure is. (Matt. 6:21) Ben's heart was in those $3. That was his treasure, and he was giving it to God. Ben used his mind to craft the letter and determine a way to support the Kingdom of God.
In reality, God was asking Ben to make a choice. He's asking us to make a choice. Will we choose to love Him? Will we choose to use our money, mind, or strengths to love Him?
Loving God isn't a passive emotion. It's an intentional choice.
The devil did his best to prevent us from fulfilling God's Word by telling me God wanted more than I had to give. He wanted me to believe that loving God had to be over-the-top, dramatic, or beyond sacrificial. But it wasn't true.
Loving God didn't mean I needed to quit my job and move to Africa. God didn't ask for what we didn't have. He asked for what we had. We had $3, a poorly-worded letter, paper, and a stamp. And that was enough.
God starts with the small.
And that's the trick. I think God wants to know if we will love Him with the small. Can He teach us to love Him through the mundane and the meager? Will we send the card, deliver a meal, or stop for our hurting friend? Will we say yes, Lord?
God wants to move us from unfulfillment to fulfillment. He wants to deepen our faith and create passion in our lives. But those realities require us to love Him. And loving Him is best translated into obeying Him.
"Jesus replied, "Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching." (John 14:23, NIV)
It sounds simple, but it's hard. I struggled to love God with something as small as $3 and a letter. Obedience felt like God was robbing me of time by adding more to my overwhelmed schedule or stealing my money by my self-imposed need to supplement Ben's donation financially.
This small act of obedience ushered in a divine adventure I never anticipated. In reality, God wasn't asking for something more. He was offering something better. God wanted to foster my faith and deepen my love for Him by building upon my yeses.
He wants the same for you.
Two weeks after mailing Ben's letter, Ben received a hand-written notecard from Amazima, the non-profit founded by Katie Davis Majors. Enclosed in the note was a hand-beaded Ugandan key chain made by the women we had read about. Little did I know how God ultimately planned to use Ben's gift. But for now, this was the clue He had carefully laid on our adventure to Him.
Lessons learned through a journey to a water well in Uganda.
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If you want to live a life of passion, purpose, and satisfaction, you must choose to believe God when His prompt is hard, the promise seems impossible, and when the path to the promise doesn't look good.
Loving God isn't a passive emotion. It's an intentional choice.
Want more? Start here.
Read the greatest commandment in Matthew 22:37 and Deuteronomy 6:5.
How does the Bible define love? Read John 14:15, 21, 23. 1 John 3:16, 1 John 5:13.
Does the Bible describe love as an emotion or action?
Is it possible to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength?
Ask God to teach you how to love Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.