Who cares?

That phrase can be an expression of apathy very much like the dismissive - "Whatever!" -that was so overused a few years ago, but that is not the way I'm using it today. "Who cares?" is a question that we're all asking. Who cares about me? Who cares if I live or die? Who cares if I am thriving or discouraged? One well known TV pastor is famed for his line - "God loves you and so do I," which he delivers with enthusiasm. In one of the most impersonal mediums, he delivers one of the most personal statements- and it works; in part, at least, because people are so hungry for love.

We hoped that our wired world would bring us closer together. In one sense, it has. Just look at the way 21st century people use technology! Cell phones and email, technologies that have only become 'mainstream' and widely available in the last decade or so, are now one of the primary means of sharing life with others. A teenager is 'connected' to his network of friends electronically. Billions of text messages beam from phone to phone in cryptic languages adapted to the need to use the 10 keys of the phone to communicate. Need an example? Probably not if you're under 25, but almost certainly if you're older.
F2T - means 'Free To Talk.' I love this one - POS - 'Parent Over Shoulder!' Now why would a teen send that message? I'm LOL - Laughing Out Loud!

Though I am physically located in Washington, NJ, I am able to reach out with a message to hundreds of people - stretched around the globe- each morning, instantly! Yes, we are a wired world, and we are very, very lonely! Speeded up communication leaves us longing for deeper relationships Wider networks of friends and acquaintances stretch us thinner, perhaps with fewer close friends who really know our hearts. Who cares? is the plaintive cry of the modern American. From little children who spend 10-12 hours a day in day care and live all a poor emotional diet of their parent's leftover time; to aged Grandmas who long for dinner with their sons and daughters, people are alone.

Believer, we are sent into the world to care! This is our primary mission. Whatever we do in the name of Christ - whatever our ministry or service- without the motivation of love the Bible says it is a worthless exercise. Consider the Word's challenge. Please do not read it quickly, or say, "I've seen this before." Let it soak into your consciousness.....

If I could speak in any language in heaven or on earth but didn’t love others, I would only be making meaningless noise like a loud gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I knew all the mysteries of the future and knew everything about everything, but didn’t love others, what good would I be? And if I had the gift of faith so that I could speak to a mountain and make it move, without love I would be no good to anybody. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would be of no value whatsoever. 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 NLT

Eloquence, mystical spirituality, even a sacrificial life - these things mean NOTHING if they are not rooted in LOVE! Jesus reminds us that the entire ethical code of human relationships is summed up in a phrase - "Love your neighbor as you love yourself." In another place, He said it with these words - "Ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initiative and do it for them! If you only love the lovable, do you expect a pat on the back?" (Luke 6:31-32 The Message)

It doesn't have to be a gift of a $million! It doesn't have to be your blood that you give to show love. Communicate the love of God in the simple ways.

Just take time to listen.
Bend down and look your child in the eye and give them your full attention.
Pick up the phone and really pay attention to the person you call.

Having trouble loving others? That's a troubling symptom of real spiritual sickness! The Bible says, "We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death." 1 John 3:14 There it is. No love, no God!

Here's a passage to take with you today. Let the truth sink deep. When you grasp the love God has for you, that love will spill over into your world and people know that YOU CARE!

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. 1 John 4:7-12