Love Up Close

Guest blogger April Diaz is an FYI Advisory Council member and serves as the Next Gen Pastor at Newsong Church in Irvine, CA.

Love can’t love from a distance. I’ve already been asked a few times “why are you adopting from Ethiopia?” or “why are you going to Malawi with Newsong?” It’s because Love is up close. It’s personal. It doesn’t admire or gaze at a distance. It gets down and dirty. It requires sacrifice. It takes a leap of faith. It’s rarely comfortable.

Easter was just a few weeks ago. And it was a glaring, moving reminder to me of the incarnate Love of our God who came to be with us. He could have done everything from heaven. He could’ve written a check.  He could’ve sent someone else in his place.  He could’ve made excuses about why it wouldn’t work this time.  He could have taken care of it all from a distance. But he didn’t. He chose to be close to us, at the greatest cost imaginable.

A couple weeks ago, my husband and I did most of our home study paperwork for our adoption. Ugh. But even as I was filling out the tedious questions about our finances, our marriage, our work, I was reminded that Love is up close and personal.

A couple of days ago we returned from a trip to Malawi. Not to hang with Madonna. To capture a glance of God’s activity in his people there. And to see how our community can be a blessing for the next 10-15 years in that community. It cost us a lot — time, money, comfort, humility. It’s cost our friends and family something. But Love requires us to get close.

Working with youth, the misfits of our culture, requires us to get close.  Sometimes closer than we’d like with a 12 year old boy who’s yet to discover the miracle of deodorant.  Close to families whose lives are falling apart, but would never want anyone in the church to know about it.  It requires working more nights, weekends, and uncomfortable times during emergencies or teaching moments.  It requires us to sleep in cabins and eat raunchy camp food as adults.  But love gets down and dirty by proving itself.  Not just saying “I love you.”

I love you, Baby Ethiopia. Your daddy and I promise to love you up close.

I love you, Africa.  You teach me so much about God our Mother.

I love you, Evolve & Fusion students at Newsong.  Willingly I will give myself to you so you will know my Jesus more.

Help me love you up close more and more, because I know I’m not so good at it today.

Check out more about Love Up Close .

©2009 Fuller Youth Institute