Imagine you were in a crowded grocery store. Your cart is loaded high with this week’s menu items but you still haven’t checked every item off the list. You’re in a hurry. Needing to get home, you rush down the aisle as you head for the milk. On your way, you crash into two shoppers, toppling over one of their carts and bumping into another shopper you didn’t see. But you don’t stop to help, you just keep going.
Eye on the prize, you keep your basket wheels rolling. Once you reach the milk you were heading for, you see a teenage girl reaching in for her own gallon. Impatient and irritated, you swipe the milk out of her hand and keep walking.
Right now, you’re probably thinking to yourself: “I would never shop like that!” Or, “What kind of stores does she shop in?” But I would like to propose though we may not actually grocery shop this way, we still often live our lives this way. All too often, we fail to see and heed other women in our lives. Sometimes, we live so consumed by our own needs and plans that we fail to slow down and help others in our paths.
Looking Out for Others
Grocery shopping requires us to keep our eyes up. We must be conscious of the other shoppers strolling the aisles and try to navigate our carts in a way that takes them into account. We yield when we see another basket coming, waiting our turn before jumping for the same item someone else is looking for, and happy to help out if someone can’t reach or find an item. In the same way, we should be on the lookout for the women in our life. As believers, we are God’s chosen instruments to care for those He’s placed in our paths. To serve one another, we must see one another.
As a young mother, I was overwhelmed by the stress of small children, lack of sleep, mounting laundry and dirty dishes in the kitchen sink. Adjusting to a new season of life proved more difficult than I expected and I needed friends to encourage me and pray for me to persevere in joy and hope. I needed women who would remind me of the truths of scripture: God is an ever present help in trouble, He is near, and He hears my prayers.
I am so thankful for the women in my life who made time for me when I most needed their help. Instead of seeing me as an inconvenience, they made themselves available because they saw my need and were determined to help. These women have listened, advised, laughed and cried with me. And they haven’t stopped with mere words; they’ve watched my kids, cleaned my house, washed and folded my laundry, and gone grocery shopping for me. They have made my family countless meals and kept me company on the dreariest of days. They’ve been with me through pregnancy bed rests, surgeries, and regular daily life. These women served me because they love me and they love Jesus.
Looking to Christ
Jesus came to serve and not to be served. He saw people and he loved and cared for them even when it was inconvenient and costly. And ultimately, he gave of Himself to the point of death on the cross. This act of complete and perfect selflessness, ransomed our sinless souls and purchased our salvation for eternity.
When I consider all Christ has done for me: loving me while I was still a sinner and living a perfect life, and dying so I might live, it compels me to live a life of gratitude and self-sacrifice. It reminds me of the importance of giving freely, because I received freely. Because Christ loved me, I can love others.
Looking to Give
In the name of the Gospel, we are called to look past ourselves and find the women around us who need to be seen and loved. We are called to care less about ourselves and our own schedules and plans and more about their souls. Maybe they need something as simple as a babysitter or for us to pick up an extra gallon of milk at the store. Or, they might need a listening ear and a friend who will pray. And maybe, they need someone to share the good news of Jesus with them.
In my life, I regularly cross paths with women who are weary and hopeless. And as a follower of Christ, I have the answer to their hopelessness. When Christ called His disciples to go into every nation and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, he meant for this to be a commission to all of his disciples. Even me. And, even you. And for this to be possible, we must look for others to give grace away.
There are many women who are waiting to see Christlikeness lived out before their eyes, through sacrificial service and love. They need to see the gospel embodied over and over again - because you’ve been forgiven and received mercy and love freely, you can give of yourself and love others freely.
Where are you today? Are you living in your own bubble, seeing only your own needs and plowing past the people God has placed in your life? Are you living aware of the ways God is equipping you to pour yourself out for others? What small changes can you make in your life today to see others more clearly?
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.” John 15:12-14
