How many ways can you say I love you? Years ago, as a youth pastor, I asked the students the same question, so today, I am asking you. How can you say I love you without saying those exact words?
Words like “break a leg” to someone in the theater can mean the same as “I love you.” “Drive safe” to your teens as they go out the door on Friday nights to the big game and dance is “I Love You.” How about “I’m excited to see you this weekend” to someone who lives far away? When that person is sick, and you say, “Get well,” is that not a way of conveying love?
What about when we discipline a child? Discipline is a form of “I love you so much, but I will not allow you to act this way.” What about telling someone a hard truth? Can we have a challenging conversation with someone we do not love? Sweating blood is another powerful way of showing Jesus’s love for us before we even knew Him.
This week, I found an online article about a woman who showed me another way to say “I love you.” It was a version I had never thought about, and it was so simple, “Will you go to church with me?”. It made me think of all the loved ones or close friends I had invited in the past, and as I reflected on all of the invitations, I did love them. I wanted them to understand the love and acceptance that only Jesus can offer.
This idea reminded me of a statistic I have read in many places,
“82 percent of the unchurched are at least ‘somewhat likely’ to attend church if invited. We may need to pause on this response. Perhaps we need to restate it: More than eight out of ten unchurched said they would attend church if invited.”
I would venture to say that with a number as high as 82%, the invited person must feel some love with the invitation. So, this leaves me with a question: What keeps us from inviting someone to church? Why do we fear this conversation when it is an “I love you” statement? So today is Friday. Who can you invite? Who in your life needs to hear “I love you” today?
I hope you invite them to church this week and give them a ride so they feel safe walking into a strange place. See you at 9:30 this Sunday as we look at a parable in Matthew 18
In Him,
Pastor Chris