What is Love ?

Zenas Ansari (新澤西州宣恩堂)

Love is a four lettered word that we throw around in our daily conversations. We love rice, we love people, we love God. But this year’s Jesus Loves Chinatown mission trip taught me how much I did NOT love. We all understand the concept that love is patient, love is kind, etc. However, when it comes to the part where love is not self-seeking, it is not proud, that is where I fall short by a lot.

2 Corinthians 4:7 says,「But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.」The treasure that we have is the gospel – the message that in our anti-God, pro-sin state, God sent down his perfect, blameless Son in the form of man to pick up our sinfulness and to die with it. However, he conquered death and rose again on the third day. So whoever believes in his Son, and confesses and repents of their sins, can be right before God. Whereas, we were initially destined to hell, we can now enter into the Kingdom of God because of what Jesus has done for us. This is amazing news, life changing news! Why wouldn’t you want to share this with other people? It is so easy to talk about sports news, world news, but to talk about this amazing good news proved to be difficult.

To start off this trip, I was very confident that it would be easy to pass out tracks, talk to people about God, showing how great I was. But as soon as we headed out on our trek to Union Square, I realized how I couldn’t even bring myself to hand out tracks! Pride clouded my head, I was too prideful of how people would imagine me that I wanted to just keep my hands to myself and continue walking. Where was the love? I was too prideful of how people would view me that I couldn’t even tell them to turn around from their present state before it was too late? It wasn’t until I remembered the parable of the sheep and the goats as the king answered, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of my brethren, you have done it to me.” From then on, my heart was much calmer as I tried to live out my purpose in glorifying God instead of myself.

I would be a liar to say that it only got easier from then. But God has blessed me with so many encounters that I had throughout the week. I met an elderly Jewish man who promised to go to a local Jews for Jesus meeting. I met an African American mother and her daughter and was able to provide some food for thought. I met an NYU student who was part of a fellowship, but not a church and was able to give some information about churches in the area.  I met a CUNY student, and was able to lessen the tension that he had with the church by giving him $10 to buy a Bible. All in all, I must say that the people who I have met, they were really blessed me. And overall, this entire experience, has taught me a lot more about how to love.