Love first, ask questions later

St. Francis of Assisi once said, "Preach the Gospel always, when necessary use words." This is a statement that I have recently gotten to see in practice. Last week, I spent some time in Chile where I met an amazing family whose love for God is contagious. They have lived out their faith and have made it the central focus of their life. It was remarkable talking to them and hearing what they were doing around the world. Their ministry has affected the lives of hundreds of Chileans and has impacted the lives of many more around the world. Their mission has been simple and that has been to love others as Christ has loved them.

Sitting on the patio of my host's house, I saw this small stray cat. It was rather small and had clearly missed quite a few meals. At the time, it was trying to get at a small bit of water. I got down off the chair and attempted to simply show it some attention. Being a stray, it was unused to attention and thus ran off without any water. I thought about that for a while and how similar it was to the world. There are many people out there who have been hurt by Christians or have been turned away from Christianity because of some bad experiences in the church. They have seen us as hypocrites and judgmental. The reason why though is because we have often lost track of our vision or calling. We have traded it in for condemning others and making ourselves out to be perfect. In James it tells us that faith without action is dead. It says, "Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?" (James 2:15-17) If we are to overcome the animosity against us we must first love and continue to love as Christ loved us. Just like the cat who was wary of people and needed first to be shown that I was trying to help, people need to see our message of love and hope and know that we care before they will be willing to listen to our message.

This is how my host has treated the small town of Iloca. Iloca is a small town on the coast of Chile where almost a year ago, it was ravaged by a Tsunami caused by an Earthquake just off the Chilean coast. While the people were able to get to high ground in time, many of the houses were completely destroyed. Many people were left homeless and many were left with nothing. Their entire livelihoods were taken by the Tsunami. My host and his organization has spent the last year building homes for these people. They have raised money and brought teams down from many different churches to provide this very basic need to the people of Iloca. Around town, he is known as Papo because of the work that he has done there. He has gotten to know the people and through his actions the town has seen his love and passion and has desired to know where it comes from. After a year of building relationships and 26 houses, the village has asked Papo to plant a church there. They want to know where the love that he shows comes from. They can see something different in him and the rest of his family and desire to have that same passion and love. Going to the first church service in Iloca, I was humbled to witness as many people came to listen to the message and subsequently gave their life to Christ, many of whom, were friends of Papo.

Too often we as Christians are so focused in preaching the Gospel that we forget to show the Gospel. We get into debates with people, we argue our viewpoints, we ridicule others, and we tell others where they have gone wrong and are in need of repentance. We forget that Jesus first showed His love to them. People around Him knew that He cared. They saw the love in His actions and eagerly listened to His words. Their desire for repentance stemmed from His love for them when they were strangers. Jesus desires us to love people and to share the Gospel with them. As Papo illustrated to me in Iloca, Chile, we must love first, and ask questions later.