No matter the career or life path that you choose to take, you will come across people. Every person that you encounter will be different. Yes, some may be similar to you, but you will always find someone that is unique and different than you. I think this is one of the neatest things that God chose to do when creating us.

    

I have thoroughly enjoyed my weeks of being an intern at Parma Heights Baptist Church. I have loved meeting all the different people that make the community of Parma Heights so unique. I have met staff, students, and parents that have welcomed me and helped me learn more about the people of PHBC.

 

As I learn more about the different people that make up this beautiful church, I have been challenged with the question, “How do I love all these different people well?”

 

I will never forget a youth group lesson when I was in high school, where we were tasked to create a mission statement for our lives. I thought long and hard about the mission statement that I wanted to represent my life. The mission statement that I came up with was:

 

Although this has been the mission of my life for as long as I can remember, there are times that I forget. I was so encouraged to read a book that is a part of my internship, titled Ten Sentences to Revolutionize Your Ministry. In this book, there was an entire chapter dedicated to love people better. The title of the chapter was a simple prayer, “Lord, help me love people the way you love them”.

I was completely taken back to read the prayer that has been on my heart since I was in high school. The chapter continued to challenge me with verses such as Leviticus 19:18, that says, “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the songs of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord” (emphasis added).

God has called us to show love to everyone that crosses our path. This can be a daunting task. I love how this book broke down eight simple challenges to love people better:

 

These are such simple ways that you can show your love towards others. I challenge you, as a church body, to look for ways to love the people that make up this church in a beautiful way, the way Christ loves them. Love is such a powerful word that has a powerful effect. You have a beautiful church made of beautiful people. What an easy task to look for ways to love on one another better.