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Let love motivate
your actions

On the Christian calendar, we are now in the midst of the season of Lent, 40 days before Easter (not including Sundays), a time when we remember the 40 days that Jesus spent in the wilderness after his baptism by John and before the beginning of his public ministry. It's a time for thinking about how we are living our lives. I want to share a few thoughts based on the first letter of Paul to the church at Corinth.

» Be watchful. Pay attention to what's going on in the world around you. Be aware of the people, places and events that remind us that good things are happening, even in the midst of the most tragic circumstances. In October my wife, Judy, and I spent time at the Christian Medical College and Hospital in Vellore, India. I had two opportunities to relate to the staff in the Emergency Services Department, and in January I rejoiced to see that they were among the first responders to the tsunami tragedy. Throughout the world, there are people who care. We need to keep reminding ourselves of that and follow their example.

» Stand firm in your faith. Know where you stand and what you believe. Do you have a clear sense of why you are here, of what you're supposed to be doing in this world? What is the one thing that's most important to you, and how does everything else relate to it? When you have a strong core, a strong center, everything else falls into place. The hospital in Vellore is very openly a Christian facility -- they do what they do because they believe this is what God wants them to do.

» Be courageous. To live a life of faith means a willingness to take risks. Don't be afraid to step out and be counted; the world needs courageous people.

» Be strong. A life of faith requires staying power. This means taking care of your body, mind and spirit. At Makiki Christian Church during Lent, we are involved in a "Walk to Jerusalem." It's a program of spiritual and physical discipline where our members keep track of the miles they walk, run, jog, swim, etc. in a given week, along with spiritual meditation and prayer. This is recorded every week. We mark on the map how far we have metaphorically traveled, and pray for that particular area of the world. We are well on our way, and will have covered the miles between Honolulu and Jerusalem well before Easter. We believe it's important to take care of ourselves, and it's fun when we do it with others.

» Let all that you do be done in love. This is the bottom line. For Christians, Jesus Christ is the model of this kind of love. That love is the heart of our faith, the reason for our living and the hope of our hurting world.

Keep the light shining!

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