Sharing God's love through actions, not words

by Brittany Bradford, entertainment editor

Since writing a few articles in which I wrote what I believe, I have had both good and bad responses.

In regard to the good responses, I give all the glory to God, because without Him, I would not have known what to write. But I did not prepare myself for the negative response. It is amazing how you can be so close to someone until the subject of what you believe comes up, and suddenly you feel as distant as the east is from the west. Although you are so much alike, you are so different at the same time. It absolutely breaks my heart.

I could pour out every fact that truly proves the existence of God; because there is evidence in all that we see. I know first hand that there is an overwhelming amount of proof in my own life. But what I have learned is that it is not in what I say unless my actions can prove it to be true.

In Matthew 5: 39, it says, “But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” I could fight back with facts and statistics, but in the end, it would become just that. The love of God cannot be found or measured by facts, but by the hearts of those who believe in Him.

Sometimes God asks things of me that I don’t understand at the time. Recently, I was eating at the BSM, which has the beautiful blessing of the 50-cent lunch on Mondays and Thursday. As we all scrambled to find two quarters, I pulled out a dollar. This is when God took over. I walked up and gave the dollar and asked that the other 50 cents be used to pay for a friend of mine back in the line who I know doesn’t believe in God.

I went on and sat down and talked with everyone. Then I asked if the person I had handed my dollar to had told my friend I paid for him. He knew he had been paid for, but he was mistaken as to who had. When he realized it was me, he said, “Thank you for paying for me” more than once.

It was then that God touched my heart. The Bible says “for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life.” Long before we even knew Him, Jesus came to this earth and paid a bloody and painful price, even for those who do not think He is real. As I sat there at lunch, I realized that my friend had sinned because we all have, yet he wasn’t dead. Although the price of sin is death, someone he did not know had already paid for him.

Just as I thank Jesus every day for “paying for me,” he thanked me for a simple 50 cents. God loves him and all those who don’t believe in Him more than I can comprehend. It is the hardest thing to see so many people who are broken and torn looking for something to make them truly happy, to make everything OK and to let them know they are not alone. I know the power of God, and I have seen it change people’s lives. It is the hardest thing to know so many who do not believe that this power is real. I want to tell my friend that just like I had paid for him that day, though it was a simple act, Jesus paid for you, whether you believe or not. He died for your sins and loves you no matter what.

I cannot fight anymore with numbers and facts, because it is faith that keeps me going. All I can do is make my life and my actions living proof of God. The Bible also says that our strongest weapon against those who do not believe is prayer. Every night and every day, I pray that maybe some day, maybe way after I leave their lives, the friends of mine who do not believe will find God in the most unexpected place and He will change their lives like they could never imagine.

God is not just a good feeling and Jesus was not just a prophet. We were created by God and He loves us more than we could ever know. Jesus endured pain greater than I can fathom, and it was not by accident. It is true that He came back from the dead. It is not a fairytale or mythology, but it is the Truth.

Lord, I pray that these hearts will be saved, and thank you for proving your love to me as I try to prove it to others. Give me the words to say and let my actions be proof of You. All I can do is pray and love my friends the same way God loved me centuries before I believed.