The focus on Growing disciples, Serving society and Planting churches have one similar element and that is love.

If you do not have His love, you CANNOT grow disciples, serve society and plant churches as they all involve people.

And since responding to His call to care for His people, I’ve witnessed (am still) the ‘surgical’ work is doing in my heart in respect to my understanding of true love, and my attitude and actions in loving others.

In the past, I had always thought I was a good people person, hence I assumed I could love people easily. But God was to prove me so wrong… Ha ha ha…

I can recall the earlier days when I started ‘following up-ing’ on others. What a nightmare it was!

Doors were slammed in my face, I was spat in the face and trampled upon like dirt. But of cos figuratively speaking lar… what I meant was that waves of rejections, insults and feelings of unappreciated continually hit me hard thru out the ‘follow up’ process.

Those were the moments where my initial reactive thoughts would be like what is depicted below…

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Yeah… a head butt on those people were what came to mind then… Ho ho ho… (Thanks Zidane =p)

But of cos I had never reacted like that but submitted my anger and hurt to God. Cos everytime when that had happened, the Holy Spirit did well to remind me how Jesus had graciously died for me despite my unreciprocal love to Him.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!                        Philippians 2:5-8 (NIV)

He meekly submitted to the will of His Father and left the rest to God like how He continued to love and forgive His enemies while He was pinned to the cross like a ragged doll by them when He could actually with just one call, wipe out His enemies with a legion of heavenly armies.

Presently I still do receive this kind treatment from people, but somehow I’ve accepted it as part of loving others and identifying with Christ in His sufferings.

What is important at the end of the day is that I love as God loves (unconditionally with no agenda), the response from others is secondary.

From this, not only I’ve come to understand better what true love is (its about giving and a choice, not based on feelings or preferences) but at the same time I’ve grown secure about who I am in Christ and not allowing what people’s opinions of me tear me down.