Never Waste an Opportunity to Love – Come Alive in Being Interruptible

How often are we so busy going through the motions of life that we refuse to be interruptible for the sake of noticing and loving others? Are we so consumed with our own day-to-day checklists that we feel a lulling numbness, thinking to ourselves, “Is this it?”  

At what point do we wake up and realize we haven’t been living?

Your morning may have been pure chaos. Rushing to get out the door for work while simultaneously wrangling kids. Pulling yourself together so you don’t resemble a walking zombie (after yet another night of restless sleep). Spilling coffee on yourself after impatiently waiting for the caffeinated beverage you’ve been longing for all morning (that your barista made wrong).  

Take a moment to consider whether you have come alive in the Spirit this morning? Have you paused to let Jesus permeate your heart? Did you ask your barista how her morning was going? Did you pause to listen? 

Life is more than dry bones. Let us not be so consumed with ourselves that we go through our worldly existence like corpses—just getting by—forgetting our purpose here and missing the point. After all, we are new creations in Christ Jesus! 

Here is the secret: looking beyond ourselves. Beyond ourselves, we can experience an everlasting joy in sharing the love of Jesus with everyone we meet. 

Our entire purpose is to point others to Jesus. 

"Let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” - Matthew 5:16 

Every place you go—every place—is a place that needs the love of Jesus. And every place you go is exactly where the Lord has allowed you to be. Your kids need you to love them well. Your spouse needs your support. Your barista needs to hear the Gospel. Your co-worker needs your encouragement. Your boss needs your excellence in performing your tasks. Your server needs you to ask for his name and remember it. Don’t miss out on these divine opportunities to love.  

Going through the motions in life, without acknowledging others, is not where we as believers are called. We are called to be set apart. If we don’t listen to the Holy Spirit and speak life into every single person with whom we interact, we are cutting off the fruits God has so graciously given us. If we are not aiming to love like Jesus, then why are we here?  

Do not miss the point. This life is too short for us to miss the point when the entire point is eternal.  

Pause and be filled by Jesus. 

We cannot love others on our own. We need Jesus. We need His heart for others, His feet to find them, His eyes to see them, His hands to care for them, and His Spirit to know them and love them well. This starts with our intentional time in His presence.  

“Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted on the earth.” -Psalm 46:10 

When we take time to sit alone at the feet of the Father—just as Jesus did—the Lord fills us and gives us the joy we must outpour into others—the eternal, lasting joy that sustains us and has given us renewed life! If we do not have immense gratitude for what Jesus has done for us—if we do not understand the magnitude of the Cross—we cannot possibly expect to love others like Jesus.  

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” -1 John 3:1 

Be Interruptible. 

When we take the time to see others, to ask for their names (because Jesus knows them each by name), to notice the unnoticed, and to love life by life—taking full advantage of each and every divine appointment God gives us—we are entering into the first stages of disciple-making. God gave us our time and every relationship and encounters with others we will have today. He has work for us to do for Him in each of those relationships and encounters. 

The recognition that every single life is meaningful to God is profound. Until we also realize this, we cannot love strangers fully. So much of Jesus’ ministry was that of individual relationship-building in Him pausing to notice the least of these. Jesus was so interruptible.  

"Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” -Romans 15:7 

Beyond our loved ones, we are called to bless others with all the overflowing joy and tenderhearted kindness Jesus has shown us. This goes beyond simple small-talk associated with fundamental encounters; this calls us into deeper relationships with strangers and mere acquaintances—and that’s uncomfortable (at first). But God hasn’t called us to comfortability, and Jesus didn’t keep strangers at arm's length. Jesus invited Himself over to Zacchaeus’ house.  

In all these things—those beyond ourselves—we are led by the Holy Spirit to notice and serve others with excellence and joyful hearts for the glory of Christ and the growth of the Kingdom. Jesus gave us a test to know if we are really living our lives as Christians:  

“By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.” - John 13:35 

This is where we come alive in Christ.

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