Unconditional Love

Allow me to share this touching story about unconditional love, which Dr Richard Selzer wrote. He is a physician by profession and a writer by passion. He already received the National Magazine Award and the American Medical Writer's Award.

I stood by the bed where a young woman lies. Her face, post-operative, her mouth, twisted in palsy, clownish. A tiny twig of the facial muscles connecting the face to the mouth has been severed. She will be so from now on. As her surgeon, I have followed with religious fervor the curve of her flesh. Nevertheless, to remove the tumor in her cheek I had to cut that little nerve.

And late in the evening I go by to see her. Her young husband is in the room. He stands on the opposite side of the bed. They gaze at each other and touch each other
so generously. The young woman speaks to me. “Will my mouth always be like this?” “Yes,” I say, “it will. She nods, and is silent. Her young husband smiles. “You know,” he says, “I like it. It’s kind of cute.” All at once, I know that I stand onholy ground, so I lower my gaze.

Unmindful of me now, he bends to kiss her crooked mouth, and I am so close I see how he twists his own lips to accommodate to hers, to show her that their kiss still works.

Though we are sinners, crooked since birth, “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8, NIV) That is His unconditional love. And this is the love that we are to share to people. Today’s message would deal with “How to Treat Others Right.” I believe these are timely words for us. As we reach out, as more people come in to MGC, we need to become God’s channels of His love. We are God’s arms that would embrace them. Remember, people do not care how much we know unless they know how much we care.

One seeker, who visited our church a few weeks ago, wrote in our visitor’s card that “Your church is very warm.” Now I hope she was not referring to the a/c. Let’s keep our church warm. Don’t ever think it is the ushers’ job to welcome people. Look for people whose face you don’t recognize. Get to know the person. Give the person a hearty handshake. Ask if there is anything you can pray for him or her. Get his or her contact numbers. Then, after the worship service, thank the person either through SMS or a phone call. Invite our guest to visit us again. Then be there the next Sunday to welcome the person. Studies shows that a person need to know at least seven people in a church before they would consider joining it.

What if you are that seventh person? Brethren, let us express God’s unconditional love.