God's Hands And Feet
Tom and Dee Sanchez
BSHDFC International Chaplains
As chaplains, we are to
serve others and serve
God. We care for
others, pray for others,
and listen to others.
We work as God's
hands and feet in this
world. To do this well, we need to understand what it is
to love. The key to love is to look at God's definition,
not the world's. The world around us, or our culture,
defines love as
1. A willingness to prioritize another's well-being or
happiness above your own.
2.Extreme feelings of attachment, affection, and need.
3.Dramatic, sudden feelings of attraction and respect.
4. A fleeting emotion of care, affection, and like.
The world tells us "Love is love", "I can't help who I
love", and a myriad of other things. It says that love is a
feeling or an emotion that we can't control or overcome.
But we must recognize that God commands us to love
others. (John 13:34). Would He tell us to do something
that we have no control over? I don't think so. In fact,
when you look at what love is, you'll see much of it
depends on you – on your actions:
"Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not
boastful, is not arrogant, is not rude, is not self-
seeking, is not irritable, and does not keep a record of
wrongs. Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but
rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all
things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never
ends." (1 Cor. 13:4-8)
You see, love in the Bible is described as a verb. Or as a
noun. It is something or Someone since God is Love. (1
John 4:16) But I want to focus on why we are
commanded to "love one another". Jesus said that this is
how others will know we are His disciples. As Black
Sheep, we are His disciples. We are to "love others".
That means we need to examine ourselves and determine
if we are being patient and kind. Are we envious of
others? Am I arrogant? Boastful? Or rude? As God's
witnesses and ambassadors, we must examine our lives
and example to ensure we are not misrepresenting Him.
We wear a patch that proclaims, "Jesus is Lord." Are
you a living example of that? I encourage you to be the
best version of yourself. You don't just represent all
Black Sheep when you wear your patch. You represent
the living Lord.
For me, this means I must live a conscious life thinking
about the example I am for others. I hope to live by the
same words as Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:1, "Imitate me,
as I also imitate Christ." This is not a boastful pledge
saying, "watch me" or "be like me" because I am
wonderful. It is a
desire to be like
Christ because others
will imitate you,
look to you as an
example, or judge
you because they
know you follow
Christ. We are
always being
watched – by our
children, co-workers,
and those we see out
riding. This is my
prayer for you. Keep
on setting the
example and live so
that you, too, can
recite the words of
Paul here. God Bless
you all, Black Sheep.
