Replacing Suffering with Joy
You would not believe how many opportunities we have to bring joy to people who suffer.
I would like to replicate what Jesus did for me. I would like to do it for others by loving them as He has loved me.
I love my God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, so I will do whatever I need in order for Him to look down on me and smile. I want to feel His smile on me more than anything!
I know it’s not by standing on a soap box. It’s not by holding up a sign, saying that without Christ you’re going to rot in hell. I know this is the wrong way to go about it, because it’s not how Jesus did it. Jesus didn’t walk through villages and say, “You better accept me or else rot in hell.” Jesus walked through villages and said, “I love you. How can I help?”
I’ve spent years studying the gospels. And I’ve spent years asking God how to reflect the love of Jesus into the world. In response, God has given me an opportunity to do it in an awesome way. He has given me the opportunity to help give suffering people every possible chance to experience joy. And I feel His smile when I do something good for somebody. I can feel His love reflected back to me.
That’s why I am passionate about creating joy in the best way that I possibly, humanly, can. I do my best to create environments of joy in places where people suffer. That’s the very most that I can do, but that’s the very least that Jesus does. Jesus loves us so much.
God has given me opportunities to help build housing for children orphaned by war, and help build a basketball court in Thailand for kids rescued from trafficking. He’s given me opportunities to help dig wells for villagers living in sickness because of contaminated water. He has given me the opportunity to send emergency food packets to hungry people in the US, and famine victims abroad. And he’s given me the opportunity to inspire others to do the same.
These are just some of the amazing opportunities that He has sent my way, and He has always allowed me to include others. It’s especially satisfying to include young people. I really feel His smile then.
To me, there’s no greater way to feel Jesus than this. I feel good when I go to bed at night. I lay my head down on my pillow and I feel great, because I get to help bring joy to my suffering neighbors. I am enjoying life so much.
You can do the same. You can go to bed saying, “I just helped someone get rescued from slavery today.” Or you can say, “I just helped a village of 1500 people get good drinking water.” You can say, “I just helped build an orphanage that will put shelter over kids’ heads and give them positive opportunities to learn and to be leaders.” Or you can say, “I just sent 200,000 meals to a village in Uganda and fed them for a year.” Whatever! There are so many opportunities!
Everyone has access to countless opportunities to create joy in places of suffering. This is how to reflect the love of Jesus. And when you know you’ve done it, man, that’s just an awesome feeling. This is the love that He gives. It’s the love that we have received. You’ll feel that love in your heart and in your bones, because you’ve replicated it for someone else.
Do you know what this joy is? It’s heaven on earth!
I am the author of To Stir a Movement: Life, Justice, and Major League Baseball (2013), and my second book is in the works. Visit my Huffington Post page here. I blog here. Follow me on Instagram & Twitter: @JeremyAffeldt.
