Give Love, Receive Love, Be Love.

My senior year of high school, I started attending Crosspoint ONE_Student Ministries youth group on Wednesday nights, led by youth pastor, Ryan Stoops. Let me just tell you, Ryan Stoops is one incredible guy. He is as Christ-filled and as loving as can be. The love Stoops shows is never exclusive - it goes out to all. And it wasn't just him who showed this kind of powerful, warm love. It was all of Crosspoint's youth. This kind of love - intentional love, love inspired by Christ - was really special to me. It was something I felt I needed to pass on, and still feel I need to pass on to this day.

Behind the love that ONE_Student Ministries and Ryan shared with all of us kids was the love of a Savior that cared enough to die for his people, that they might live eternally. This Savior wishes that we love one another as he loved us:

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

John 13:34-35

So you see, I didn't just learn how to love at Crosspoint. I learned how to be known for love. It's something I have to work at everyday, but it's something incredibly important to me, especially as a Christian.

The thing about being known for love (or "known for this," as the ONE_Student Ministries so often emphasizes) is that it's not just about loving the people that it's easy to love. It's so easy to give love to your best friend, your mom, your significant other.... But what about the others?

You have to love the people that it's hard to love. The people that bug the crap out of you, the people that hurt you, the people that have broken you down. You have to love these people just as much as you love the ones that it's easy to love. Because it is not the easy love, but the difficult love that defines you.

So my challenge to you, blog followers, is to take a little extra time this week to give more love to more people. Be patient with others' mistakes, smile at them, and support them in what they need support in. Be kind, accepting, and intentional in your love. Overall, just when you see someone who needs love, give it. Or even if they don't look like they need love, give it anyway.

Be the best representation of love that you can be.

On that note, all of my love to you guys. You're all incredibly wonderful.

Nikki