Let All That You Do Be Done In Love

Jeff, a Florida native, fellow brother in Christ, and Kingdom colleague, once shared with me how his early years significantly impacted his life. “I came from a broken home. My parents divorced when I was young, which affected me. My mother often worked long hours to provide and tried to get us into the church, but I wasn’t buying. ‘Latchkey kid’ is the best definition of my early childhood.”

Despite these challenges, Jeff always sensed there was more to life and his spiritual walk. He also knew he wanted to be married one day, regardless of his parent’s situation. Then, one day on the corner of his house, he saw kids getting into a bus heading to church and became interested. He asked his mom if he could join them, and she obliged.

After a couple of weeks of hanging out with them, he heard the gospel, gave his life to Christ, and started his transformational journey. However, those years also proved challenging as he had no mentor and eventually joined the Navy, where his faith waned. During those years, he had failed relationships and strayed from the faith but eventually redirected his life to Christ.

As part of this rededication, he asked God to bring him a godly wife, “Lord, please bring me a wife, and if you do, I have three requests:

1. I want an ‘island girl.’
2. I want her to speak Spanish.
3. I want her petite enough to carry her over the threshold.”

In a short time, Jeff met Bernadette, a petite Jamaican girl that knew Spanish. However, this, too, came with challenges as Bernadette has M.S. (muscular dystrophy). “When I met her, I knew exactly what I was getting into. Bernadette and her family also advised me that this would not improve as time passed. That didn’t matter to me because God answered my prayers, and if this was God’s will, I would see it through.”

They eventually married and started their life together. Over those years, God blessed them in innumerable ways. As missionaries, they’ve traveled the world sharing her story and helped lead thousands to Christ. During their 35 years of marriage, Jeff has served and provided for his bride in every possible way. “I dress her, cook for her, feed her, clean her, carry her everywhere, and attend to all her needs because she’s basically paralyzed.”

“Additionally, I must attend to household chores and handle the finances. One year out of curiosity, during our 30th anniversary, her brother calculated that I’d carried her over 846,000 times or something like that,” he added.

I asked Jeff how he does all this, “God, only Christ gives me the love, strength, and perseverance I need to accomplish what sometimes seems impossible. Without Him, I would not be able to do this.”

This encouraging story is an excellent example of today’s breakdown “Let all that you do be done in love.”The first term “Let all” or (pas) as in the original Greek means “everything, absolutely, the whole, every part, every action, every kind.” This includes every thought, action, or deed. The second half of this term Love or (agape) in Greek is a selfless, sacrificial love. The greatest love of all. The love that Christ showed for us on the cross when he gave all of Himself for us.

Pray

Pray to love others the way Christ loves you.

Meditate

What is your definition of love and how does it compare to Scripture?