Hephzibah.

"for God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus."
philippians 1:8


paul wrote these words to the body of believers in philippi. i read this and feel provoked and stirred to love with the affection of Christ Jesus. 


so God what does this mean to love with the affection of Jesus Christ? how can i go deeper than just merely scratching the surface? what does it practically look like? what do you want to prompt me to do with this verse?


within the past couple of months i have discovered the answer.


TIME.


i sat with a dear friend of mine some weeks ago for over three hours. we spent TIME together. we spoke value into each other's lives as we chose to sit, listen, ask questions, discover, and encourage. we walked away both feeling and knowing this time would not be forgotten and considered a precious moment of our summers. she was touched by my willingness to spend time with her even with my busy schedule and even more because she is double my age. i was touched by her heart, wisdom, and many stories.


when i was in india i chose to sit with a man by the name of Raj. he had lost his legs from the knees down and he was sitting on a tarp with a money cup in front of him. i asked questions. i listened to him talk about his life. i shared with him glimpses of who Jesus is. i prayed for him at the end. 
he made a comment towards the end of the conversation that struck me.
"it really means something when people choose to spend time with me. it is easy for people to stop for a couple of seconds, drop some coins in a cup, and then leave. i really appreciate the people who take time."


Jesus walked.
He took time.
i don't want to lose an opportunity to spread the affection of Jesus Christ.


as i talked to my mom today she used a perfect phrase. "God is answering my prayers. He is opening my eyes." she said this after seeing a veteran on the side of the road and feeling prompted to just go sit and hear his story.


when our attention, our focus is drawn to the individuals around us and not to our watches we have the opportunity to see and the ability to love in extravagant ways. 


we have been empowered by and through God to live like this.


to see.
to take the time.
to listen.
to love with Christ's affection.


to summarize i will end with a quote from the novel/movie "extremely loud and incredibly close."
oskar (the protaganist) stumbles upon this realization as he searches for the treasure his father left behind.


"But it wasn't working... because people aren't like numbers. They're more like letters... and those letters want to become stories... and dad said that stories need to be shared."