what am i living for?

i heard some song lyrics recently that have inspired my daily outlook on life. i'm completely obsessed with living these words:

"i will live to carry Your compassion into a world that's broken-to be Your hands and feet. and i will give with the life that i've been given, and go beyond religion to see your world be changed by the power of Your name." {via lincoln brewster/darlene zschech}

wow. it's been a while {well, a few months anyway} since i've dwelt on something and really chewed on what it means, as much as i have these lyrics. i want to dissect them a little bit--

i will live to carry Your compassion -- what does that look like in our daily lives? obviously the "Your" i'm referring to is Christ's. Christ's compassion was timeless, patient. it didn't discriminate. it was joyous. not for a day, not just around certain people he liked hanging out with. it was for all people, from all walks of life. it was for all of eternity. do people look at you and see something different? i'm talking to my fellow Christians, here. our visual field tech asked me a few weeks ago asked me what i was doing after work. i told her that i was going to help lead worship at a youth event for a church in hampton. she responded with, "you're a Christian? i should have known. Christians just have a certain glow and happiness, you can pick them out." that {to me} was not a pat on the back, or an ego-feeder. it was an encouragement and a challenge to let God's love flow through me so that others will notice that i am indeed carrying His compassion to a broken world.

i will give with the life that i've been given -- the title of my blog posts an age-old question. "what am i living for?" i am living, because a Master Creator chose to give me life. and because He has given me this life, i want to use it to give back.

go beyond religion -- i love this. "religion" is such a touchy subject in today's world. people worry about what's politically or "religiously" correct when it comes to God, instead of what's divinely inspired. we are called to step outside of the box of what is religiously correct and to do whatever we need to do to meet our world where it is. it means not just praying for those we do life with, but loving them. getting down on their level and just showing them love, whichever form they might need it in. it might be a meal, it might be a prayer, or it might be a listening ear. they might realize your love, they might not. i encourage you to live out the basic principles you learn in church on sundays, in your daily life monday-saturday. what basic principles, you ask? Jesus himself said the greatest commandment is to love. love others like Christ loved us. can you even imagine what our communities would look like if we all lived this out on days that didn't begin with "sun"?!

i hope this has inspired you.

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1 corinthians 13:8,11 -- love never fails...and now these three remain: faith, hope and love. but the greatest of these is love.