The Indiscriminate Love of God

By: Luz Jiménez Avendaño

Imagine that at this moment you are traveling on a ship through the Mediterranean Sea and you are the captain. On the boat is a shepherd, a child, a young blind man, a prostitute, an old woman and a hippy rocker. After several hours of travel, the ship begins to sink! As captain, you decide to die with your ship, but first you must decide to save 3 of the passengers and die with the others. Who would you choose?

This story makes me think of a situation I found myself in when I served as a missionary in the Dominican Republic. One of the experiences that I remember when we began to plant the church was that while we walked through the community to meet people and share with them the good news, we excitedly asked God to send us people who could strengthen the ministry and also contribute to the work.

On one of our visits we met Isabel, a woman with cancer. When we entered her house, we prayed for her and gave her words of encouragement. After we said goodbye to Isabel, she told us that when we prayed for her, she felt something special and that she wanted us to visit her once a week. At that moment many thoughts passed through my mind – not of joy or hope, but negative ones. I said to myself: “We have many more people to visit. Due to her situation and condition, Isabel will never be able to come to our services. Visiting her once a week will be a burden for us and not much help.”

In that same week God spoke to my life and I remembered what John 3:16 says: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” God’s love is the greatest and most perfect love that can exist: it’s a love that endured everything, and even drove the Father to give his son to die on a cross. Jesus did not die for a few, nor did he give his life only for the talented, or for those who have money. He loves all the people in the world and embraces them no matter what condition they are in. God is no respecter of persons!

Moved by what God was teaching me, we decided to return to Isabel’s house the following week, and we did so throughout the two years of our service. We decided to truly love Isabel in the condition she was in. During each visit God manifested himself in many ways and I was able to see his glory even through illness. In the end Isabel was not a burden; she was a great blessing to our lives.

Today, you and I have the opportunity to introduce Jesus. You will meet different types of people. Some will not thank you for your service. Others may not receive you, or in the streets they might make fun of you. Many will suffer from disease or be wandering through life without a purpose. But it is important that you remember that they have needs: they may be experiencing loneliness, depression, anxiety, scarcity, or illness. Although it is supposedly not the best time for them or they are not in the best condition, we must see them with compassion.

God’s love for every person in the world is so great and perfect that he gives it without limits and without conditions. This is the way he wants us to love too. Get ready to give the best smile and have the right attitude. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you. Do not let any prejudice or negative or selfish attitude prevent you from seeing the glory of God manifested in the lives of other people.

*Luz Jiménez Avendaño is from Mexico and has lived as a missionary in the Dominican Republic and Guatemala. She currently ministers cross-culturally in Honduras.