Imagine the Success of Love

But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”

And they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.”

He said, “Bring them here to Me.” Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. Matthew 14:16-20

In the early years of my baseball career, I was not fulfilled. I was not fulfilled as long as I was just saying, “I’m a Christian,” and then going and playing baseball. I didn’t feel good. I didn’t understand my purpose for being here on this earth. I didn’t understand, because my purpose is not to be a baseball player.

My purpose for being on earth is to love my neighbor as myself. My purpose is to use the platform I’ve been given to take that message and live it, and to speak it into the world I know. And then my purpose is to encourage you. I can encourage you to understand that your calling is not your job. I can encourage you to combine your gift with the mentality to love your neighbor as yourself. When you do that, you’ll know your vocation.

And you’ll find success. When you grasp the call to love your neighbor as yourself, and then use your gift to do it, you will find success. If you can have that kind of love for somebody, in your workplace, you will feel successful.

I cannot love God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, without loving my neighbor as myself. If I love God with my whole self, then I can’t ignore my neighbor’s needs. I can’t love God and go into my workplace and promote Jesus and ignore my neighbor. I can’t go to work and say, I’m a Christian, and I’m a Christian baseball player, and then never accept anything that’s going on in the world of poverty or the world of injustice. I can’t!

Because when Jesus walked the earth, He fought for justice. He fed well over five thousand men, women, and children that were hungry, and all He had was five loaves of bread, and two fish. He said, “Hey, before I talk, we have to feed these people, man. They’re hungry.” Think about that! Jesus thought about people’s hunger before He thought about their actual spiritual needs, because He knew that when people are hungry, they can’t focus on anything else.

Imagine the success you’ll feel when you can get people in your workplace to be aware of what’s going on in the world of poverty. You can show people what it’s like to just love your neighbors. You can help people get involved in discovering what it feels like to love people that they don’t even know. You love your neighbor by learning their needs. You don’t just say, “Yeah, I love my neighbor!” You love them by helping them out.

And you will feel successful. You’ll say to yourself, “This is why I’ve been blessed with this gift. It’s so that I can help. It’s so I can be the hands and fingers of Jesus.” The aroma of Christ will just flow off of you.

More on this next time. See you Wednesday.