Lifted Vision Ministry

I pray that everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving time of celebration with family and friends this year too; it’s always in season to be thankful to our Heavenly Father for all of the miraculous things that He has done for us, isn’t it!! 😇

I was reminded recently of a time during hospital visitation outreach, of single-handedly one of the most life altering visits to a hospital that I have ever had in my entire life. I’d like to share this story and important lesson with you today as I believe it will impact you just like it did me.

I had a hospital visit with an extremely ill woman a few years back…we prayed for her and talked with her.. brought her flowers, cards written from church, and some crossword puzzles too. During our visit, she looked at me, motioning to me with her eyes that she wanted to whisper something to me privately. As I noticed, she beckoned me to come closer to her ear, so of course I did.

As I bend down closer to her, I didn’t know it at the time, but what she would whisper to me would change my perspective forever.. she said…“it’s amazing how great people treat you when they know you’re going to die..” she was a terminally ill patient with liver failure.. her only chance at life was to get a new liver, but she was not on the transplant list due to her age. For her, recovery wasn’t an option: it wasn’t a question of “if” she was going to die; for her, it was the question of “when.” She was teetering at a slow pace to an inevitable death sentence- and everyone around her knew it too. As her sister left the room, the woman motioned for me to come down so that she could whisper something to me again. I knelt down close to her as the sick woman whispered, “she never treated me this good until recently- we never had a relationship, not until we found out I was terminal.” I stared at her blankly… taking in every word that this dying woman was saying to me. She continued to say that she never felt more loved by other people in her whole life than right now, when she was dying.

This reality confronted me and let’s just say that it was an extremely hard pill to swallow. So many thoughts and questions raced through my mind as the self-reflection hit me and started to sink in. It sounded something like this at a million miles an hour: Do we as humans only love boldly and unashamedly, when circumstances are dire? What would it take to love others so that they feel itthat much on just an average Monday? What would it take to prefer others over ourselves under normal circumstances in everyday life? Who am I in this situation: the sister before or after she found out that her family member was sick? What if sometimes we can be too late and never get the chance to love those around us? Do I hesitate to love others fully? Do we make the people around us feel as loved and cherished as we should because that’s what God would want? I know I fall so short of this so many times myself. We know too, that in order to love others the way that God has called us to, we must have the power of God to do it. Without Him, it is impossible in our own strength, because we cannot give others a perfect love all on our own- God is love(1 John 4:8). Through the Spirit, responding in Godliness, moment by moment, is the only way that we can have effective and loving relationships with others.

The biggest fact about God’s love for us is that it doesn’t have merit or even a reason. He loves us unconditionally, just because we are His.

God’s love for us is unchanging- constant, stable, and consistent. That means, that no matter how good we act or how bad we act, God’s love for us doesn’t change. It’s not based on works or situation. It’s based the goodness and perfection of His nature. He loved us first, and He chose us.

-John 15:16 KJV-
“Ye have not chosen me, butI have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.”

-1 John 4:19 NIV-
“We love because he first loved us.“

I’ll never forget that woman, who I became very close with all the way up until her going home to be with our Lord. She was a very godly woman, and what she said spoke volumes. As difficult as it may be sometimes (we have to get ourselves out of the way) we need to love others boldly each and everyday because this is God’s will! (Not to mention, it is the second greatest commandments of all time too!!!) It’s so simple, but we miss it- myself included. Let’s strive together to grow more in this area and to be knit in love towards one another. I want to remind all of us that there doesn’t need to be an extreme reason to show extreme kindness- according to the Bible, Jesus is our standard!!! Jesus loved at all times! Let’s follow His word and commandments to become more like Him, Amen!

-Matthew 22:36-40 NIV-
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Be blessed dear ones! Thank you so much for reading! Please stay tuned for more exciting updates to come!