I was supposed to be a Christian, growing up in a family who went to church. Mom, Dad, and four kids. I earned pins for Sunday School attendance. I believed in Jesus as the Savior of the world.

And yet.

Something was missing. An indefinable empty space.

My rebellious streak challenged what I already knew to be true. While I accepted what the Bible had to say; my soul questioned why. I decided to do things my way until God stepped in and explained Himself.

Well.
God is under no obligation to explain Himself to the most devoted of His followers much less to an upstart teenager who thinks she knows it all. Instead, He gave me enough proverbial rope to hang myself with, and once I was strangling in a noose of my own making, He saved me as I gurgled for help.

His love filled up that empty space. Sure, it had been there all the time, but I was oblivious. Until I recognized my need for a Savior, I would not feel all the love available to me.

Today, I walk in a world where crowds of people pass me who are in need of the same love. They’re blind. I have no power of my own to get people to understand His love for them, but I do have the power to share His love in my life, and I do have the power to pray that He will use avenues of love to reach the lost.

Here are five:

1. His love in creation. Almost every human being revels in the beauty of sunsets, the majesty of mountains, and the power of ocean waves. Deep down, they hear the Creator who whispers His love into their hearts.

2. His love in the Word. The first verses of the Gospel of John proclaim this love boldly and with clarity. Jesus is the Word. The Word became flesh because He loved us. The Bible has been written for men and women and boys and girls to see His love throughout history and expect His love in the future.

3. His love through the prophets. Major and minor prophets in the Bible carried the message of His love to the world. He sends prophets today to declare the truth of His love as well.

4. His love through all Christians. This is the one avenue where I can participate as well as pray. As people receive Jesus’ love, they have the natural desire to share the joy that now fills them. Christians who love and serve the needy and each other reflect the love of God.

In Sparkles from Silence (new title giveaway coming in my newsletter later this month), Debbie loves her sister, of course. It’s easy to love a baby. But can she love the bully on the bus? Will she realize that he is needy, too? Do we realize the annoying neighbor, the unreasonable bureaucrat, and the foul-mouthed customer are all needy and could benefit from our loving response?

5. His love through the Crucifixion and Resurrection. These two events are historical records of love. Of a God who chose to pay for the sins of His people through His own torture and death. A God who is so powerful He conquered the grave. He accomplished this supernatural feat both in the human shell He wore and in the human souls He created and continues to speak them into being.

Who has loved more than this?

When I pray for blinders to be removed from spiritually dead eyes, I ask God to use these five avenues. May these hungry souls surrender to Jesus and His love.