LET HIM LOVE YOU

Finally ada kesempatan untuk nulis sesuatu lagi di blog ini di tengah2 semua kesibukan kerja en ngurus mama pasca operasi. Hampir sebulan terakhir hidupku dipenuhi dengan semua rutinitas yang ga ada abisnya: nyiapin kebutuhan untuk makan, kerja, ngurus semua keperluan mama. Malemnya udah exhausted en aku udah tidur jam 8 atau 9 malem, ahahaha. 

Suatu malem, waktu ikut saat teduh di youtube ko Philip, tiba2 aku ngerasakan kasih Tuhan. Aku ngerasa kalo aku sangat dikasihi, dipedulikan en diperhatikan ama Tuhan. Semua rasa lelah, exhausted, bahkan pertanyaan kapan semua rutinitas baru ini kapan berakhir, sirna sudah. Aku begitu menikmati kasih Tuhan yang sangat indah. 

Bukannya aku ga paham kalo aku dikasihi Tuhan, tapi seringkali aku ga ngerasakan betapa dalamnya kasih Tuhan bagiku. Semua kesibukan begitu menyita waktu en jujur aja, aku hampir ga punya waktu khusus untuk berdua ama Tuhan selain di pagi hari sebelum memulai semua aktivitasku. Doa pun cepet2an, baca renungan, en nyembah tuh seolah2 dikejar waktu. Aku ngerasa bahwa kasihku ke Tuhan yang kurang, bukan kasih Tuhan yang kurang terhadap aku. 

Tapi momen itu aku bener2 ngerasakan bahwa Tuhan menyatakan kasih-Nya, Dia menunjukkan betapa aku berharga bagi-Nya. Dan itu sanggup mengubahkan semua perasaan yang ada di hatiku. Ada sebuah kedamaian en kelegaan yang mengalir di hatiku. 

Sadarkah kita betapa besar kasih Tuhan kepada kita? Dalam setiap musim kehidupan, dalam setiap lembah yang curam, bahkan dalam setiap kesunyian yang sepertinya ga berujung, Dia selalu ada dan menyertai. Bahkan di masa2 tergelap sekalipun, Dia ga pernah meninggalkan kita, telinga-Nya selalu terbuka lebar untuk mendengar seruan hati kita yang terdalam. 

Aku belajar satu hal, bahwa terkadang kita perlu let Him love us, let Him love you. Let His love overflowing through your heart, let His love surround you. Rasakan kasih-Nya, tenggelamkan diri kita dalam kasih-Nya yang begitu dalam dan mesra. Disitulah rasa aman yang sejati berasal. Ga perlu pembuktian apapun, ga perlu ungkapan apapun, biarkan Dia mengasihimu dengan kasih yang tak bersyarat. That's enough for you. 

He loves you. He always do. Let Him love you just the way you are. 

THIS TOO SHALL PASS

Tanggal 31 Maret kemarin mama mulai opname di rumah sakit untuk dicek kesehatannya (tekanan darah, kolesterol, darah tinggi, jantung). Trus tanggal 5 April operasi penggantian sendi panggul (total hip replacement). Setelah itu mama masih harus dipantau kondisinya, baru boleh pulang ke rumah tanggal 9 April. Alhasil sejak tanggal 31 Maret-9 April itu kehidupanku berubah drastis, tiap pagi kudu masak, kerja, trus pulang kerja pulang bentar buat mandi en makan, lalu ke rumah sakit bawain perlengkapan yang dibutuhkan mama. Bahkan ada beberapa hari aku nginep di rumah sakit, terutama malam sebelum operasi.

Hari2 itu berat banget buatku, ditengah kondisi kantor yang sangat ga menyenangkan, kerjaan yang makin numpuk karena momentum buka puasa. Aku ga punya me time, ga sempet mikir apapun selain kerjaan en kebutuhan keluarga. Bersyukurnya aku punya support system, yaitu temen2 komsel yang komitmen sediain waktu untuk ngobrol tiap minggu. Terutama karena ada 1 temen yang papanya juga dioperasi dengan kasus yang sama kayak mama, jadinya aku dikasi banyak petunjuk kudu prepare apa aja, en hal2 apa aja yang akan dialami pasca operasi. Foto di samping yang kulingkari merah tuh titanium yang dipasang di kaki mama untuk gantiin sendi panggulnya yang aus. 

Untungnya dapet suster untuk jagain mama di rumah sakit pasca operasi, karena kami semua harus kerja. Setelah mama pulang ke rumah, perjuangan masih harus berlanjut karena selama 2 minggu pertama tubuh mama masih belum kuat untuk nopang dirinya, kaki yang abis dioperasi masih belum boleh napak ke lantai. Akhirnya mama tidur di kamarku supaya aku bisa bantu kalo tengah malam butuh ganti popok.

Saat2 itu cece yang papanya juga operasi dengan kasus yang sama, rutin chat aku nanya gimana kondisi mama en gimana perasaanku. Sesuatu yang jarang orang tanyakan mengenai apa yang dirasakan oleh keluarga yang ngalami masa2 sulit. Waktu itu aku jawab kalo aku ga punya perasaan apapun, udah ga sempat ngerasakan apapun, karena fokus utamaku adalah memastikan mama baik2 aja dengan kondisi masih dalam pemulihan, nyediain makanan buat keluarga tiap pagi en malem. 

Aku ga pernah mbayangin bakal ngalami hari2 seperti ini. Tapi aku bener2 bersyukur karena di masa2 ini Tuhan kasi kesehatan buat kami sekeluarga, ga ada yang sakit sekalipun kami kecapekan. Bersyukur juga karena Tuhan kasi orang2 baik yang support, baik secara doa, moral, maupun kirim makanan. Aku selalu menguatkan diriku dengan sebuah kesadaran bahwa hari2 ini akan segera berlalu, this too shall pass. Bahwa kami akan melewatinya dengan penuh kemenangan en sukacita. 

Dan di masa2 seperti ini, aku makin menyadari penyertaan Tuhan yang begitu sempurna, menyadari bahwa Tuhan ga pernah biarkan aku sendiri dengan mengirimkan orang2 yang support dengan cara yang luar biasa. Di samping itu, masa2 ini membentuk kami sekeluarga jadi semakin kompak, semakin kuat, en belajar banyak hal. Thank you, Jesus. 

A LOVE WORTH GIVING PART 2 (MAX LUCADO)

NINE: THE HEART FULL OF HURTS
"Love . . . keeps no record of wrongs" (1 Corinthians 13:4–5, NIV).
1. Mark it down. Today’s thoughts are tomorrow’s actions. Today’s jealousy is tomorrow’s temper tantrum. Today’s bigotry is tomorrow’s hate crime. Today’s anger is tomorrow’s abuse. Today’s lust is tomorrow’s adultery. Today’s greed is tomorrow’s embezzlement. Today’s guilt is tomorrow’s fear. Today’s thoughts are tomorrow’s actions. 

Life would have been easier for everyone on board if they had never allowed the trash to pile up. 

2. Do we have a choice? Paul says we do: “We capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5). Do you hear some battlefield jargon in that passage—“capture every thought,” “make it give up” and “obey Christ”? You get the impression that we are the soldiers and the thoughts are the enemies. Our assignment is to protect the boat and refuse entrance to trashy thoughts. The minute they appear on the dock we go into action. “This heart belongs to God,” we declare, “and you aren’t getting on board until you change your allegiance”. Selfishness, step back! Envy, get lost! Find another boat, Anger! You aren’t allowed on this ship. Capturing thoughts is serious business.

“Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life” (Prov. 4:23).

3. It’s not enough to keep the bad stuff out. We’ve got to let the good stuff in. It’s not enough to keep no list of wrongs. We have to cultivate a list of blessings. The same verb Paul uses for keeps in the phrase “keeps no list of wrongs” is used for think in Philippians 4:8: “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (RSV). Thinking conveys the idea of pondering—studying and focusing, allowing what is viewed to have an impact on us.
4. Rather than store up the sour, store up the sweet. You want to make a list? Then list His mercies. List the times God has forgiven you. Stand face to feet with the form of your crucified Savior and pray, “Jesus, if you can forgive me for hurting you, then I can forgive them for hurting me”. You didn’t deserve to be hurt by them. But neither did you deserve to be forgiven by Him.


TEN: THE LOVE TEST

"Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth" (1 Corinthians 13:6 NIV).

1. Want to separate the fake from the factual, the counterfeit from the real thing? Want to know if what you feel is genuine love? Ask yourself this: Do I encourage this person to do what is right? For true love “takes no pleasure in other people’s sins but delights in the truth” (1 Cor. 13:6 JB).

Love doesn’t ask someone to do what is wrong. True love will never ask the “beloved” to do what he or she thinks is wrong. Love doesn’t tear down the convictions of others.

2. Do you want to know if your love for someone is true? If your friendship is m genuine? Check the room key. Ask yourself: Do I influence this person to do what is right? If you answered yes, have some coffee. You’re in the right hotel. If you want to be doubly sure, however, ask the next question. Do I applaud what is right? For love “rejoices whenever the truth wins out” (1 Cor. 13:6 NLT).
3. Love never celebrates misfortune. Never. I like the way Eugene Peterson translates the passage: “Love . . . doesn’t revel when others grovel, [but] takes pleasure in the flowering of truth” (1 Cor. 13:6 MSG). J. B. Phillips is equally descriptive: “Love . . . does not . . . gloat over the wickedness of other people. On the contrary, it shares the joy of those who live by the truth”.
4. Real love changes people. Didn’t God’s love change you? Weren’t you, like the prisoner, blind? You couldn’t see beyond the grave. You couldn’t see your purpose in life until He showed you. And you couldn’t hear either. Oh, your ears functioned, but your heart didn’t understand. You’d never heard of such love and kindness, but God spoke in your language. And, most of all, He set you free. You are free! Free to run away. Free to harden your heart. Free to duck down side streets and hide behind trash cans. But you don’t. Or if you do, you come back. Why?Because you’ve never been loved like this before. 

Love is a fruit of the Spirit. Ask God to help you love as He loves. “God has given us the Holy Spirit, who fills our hearts with His love” (Rom. 5:5 CEV). 

5. Isn’t it good to know that even when we don’t love with a perfect love, He does? God always nourishes what is right. He always applauds what is right. He has never done wrong, led one person to do wrong, or rejoiced when anyone did wrong. For He is love, and love “does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth” (1 Cor. 13:6 NASB).


ELEVEN: LOVE IS A PACKAGE DEAL

"Love . . . bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things" (1 Corinthians 13:4–7 NASB).

1. Wouldn’t it be great if love were like a cafeteria line? It would be easier. It would be neater. It would be painless and peaceful. But you know what? It wouldn’t be love. Love doesn’t accept just a few things. Love is willing to accept all things. “Love . . . bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Cor. 13:4–7 NKJV).
2. God’s view of love is like my mom’s view of food. When we love someone, we take the entire package. No picking and choosing. No large helpings of the good and passing on the bad. Love is a package deal. But how can we love those we find difficult to love?
3. He envisions an agape love. Agape love cares for others because God has cared for us. Agape love goes beyond sentiment and good wishes. Because God loved first, agape love responds. Because God was gracious, agape love forgives the mistake when the offense is high. Agape offers patience when stress is abundant and extends kindness when kindness is rare. Why? Because God offered both to us. Agape love “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (13:7 NKJV).


TWELVE: A CLOAK OF LOVE

"Love . . . always protects" (1 Corinthians 13:6–7 NIV).

1. “Love . . . always protects” (1 Cor. 13:4–7 NIV). Remember receiving one? You were nervous about the test, but the teacher stayed late to help you. You were far from home and afraid, but your mother phoned to comfort you. You were innocent and accused, so your friend stood to defend you. Covered with encouragement. Covered with tender-hearted care. Covered with protection. Covered with a cloak of love.
2. We hide. He seeks. We bring sin. He brings a sacrifice. We try fig leaves. He brings the robe of righteousness. And we are left to sing the song of the prophet: “He has covered me with clothes of salvation and wrapped me with a coat of goodness, like a bridegroom dressed for his wedding, like a bride dressed in jewels” (Isa. 61:10). God has clothed us. He protects us.
3. Does God protect us? And you? Did He keep you from a bad relationship? Protect you from the wrong job? Insulate you from _______________ (you fill in the blank)? “Like hovering birds, so will [the LORD Almighty] protect Jerusalem” (Isa. 31:5 JB). “He will strengthen and protect you” (2 Thess. 3:3 NIV). “He will command His angels . . . to guard you” (Ps. 91:11 NIV). God protects you with a cloak of love.
4. Here is what love says: Love says nothing. Love stays silent. “Love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Pet. 4:8 NASB). Love doesn’t expose. It doesn’t gossip. If love says anything, love speaks words of defense. Words of kindness. Words of protection.

THIRTEEN: THE RING OF BELIEF

"Love . . . believes all things" (1 Corinthians 13:4–7 NASB). 

1. It’s one thing to give a gift to the healthy. It’s one thing to share a treasure with the strong. But to give your best to the weak, to entrust your treasure to the dying—that’s saying something. Indeed, that’s saying something to them. “I believe in you,” the gesture declares. “Don’t despair. Don’t give up. I believe in you.” It’s no wonder Paul included this phrase in his definition of love. “[Love] believes all things” (1 Cor. 13:7 NASB).

2. Before you start questioning the wisdom of the father, remember, in this story you are the prodigal son. When you came home to God, you were given authority to conduct business in your heavenly Father’s name.  When you speak truth, you are God’s ambassador. As you steward the money He gives, you are His business manager. When you declare forgiveness, you are His priest. As you stir the healing of the body or the soul, you are His physician. And when you pray, He listens to you as a father listens to a son. You have a voice in the household of God. He has given you His ring.

The only thing more remarkable than the giving of the ring is the fact that He hasn’t taken it back! Weren’t there times when He could have? Do you still have a Bible? Are you still allowed to pray? Do you still have a dollar to manage or a skill to use? Then it appears that He still wants you to have the ring. It appears that He still believes in you!

3. How do we show people that we believe in them?

• Show up. Nothing takes the place of your presence. Letters are nice. Phone calls are special, but being there in the flesh sends a message.

• Listen up. You don’t have to speak to encourage. The Bible says, “It is best to listen much, speak little” (James 1:19 TLB). We tend to speak much and listen little. There is a time to speak. But there is also a time to be quiet.

• Speak up. You have the power to change someone’s life simply by the words that you speak. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Prov. 18:21 NKJV). That’s why Paul urges you and me to be careful. “When you talk, do not say harmful things, but say what people need—words that will help others become stronger” (Eph. 4:29).

Your words are food and water! Do not withhold encouragement from the discouraged. Do not keep affirmation from the beaten down! Speak words that make people stronger. Believe in them as God has believed in you. You may save someone’s life.

FOURTEEN: WHEN YOU'RE LOW ON HOPE

"Love . . . always hopes" (1 Corinthians 13:7 NIV).

1. You’ve needed some hope. You’re not asking for a helicopter rescue, but the sound of one would be nice. Hope doesn’t promise an instant solution but rather the possibility of an eventual one. Sometimes all we need is a little hope. 

2. An olive leaf. Noah would have been happy to have the bird but to have the leaf! This leaf was more than foliage; this was promise. The bird brought more than a piece of a tree; it brought hope. For isn’t that what hope is? Hope is an olive leaf—evidence of dry land after a flood. Proof to the dreamer that dreaming is worth the risk.

3. “Is there any hope?” To all the Noahs of the world, to all who search the horizon for a fleck of hope, He proclaims, “Yes!” And He comes. He comes as a dove. He comes bearing fruit from a distant land, from our future home. He comes with a leaf of hope. Have you received yours? Don’t think your ark is too isolated. Don’t think your flood is too wide. Your toughest challenge is nothing more than bobby pins and rubber bands to God. God has a better perspective as well. He is not confounded, confused, or discouraged. 

Receive His hope, won’t you? Receive it because you need it. Receive it so you can share it. 

Love extends an olive leaf to the loved one and says, “I have hope in you”. Love is just as quick to say, “I have hope for you”.

4. Encourage those who are struggling. Don’t know what to say? Then open your Bible. The olive leaf for the Christian is a verse of Scripture. “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Rom. 15:4 NIV). Do you have a Bible? Do you know a Noah? Then start passing out the leaves. 

5. Your Bible is a basket of leaves. Won’t you share one? They have amazing impact. After receiving his, Noah was a changed man. “Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth” (Gen. 8:11 NIV). He went up the ladder with questions and came down the ladder with confidence. What a difference one leaf make.

FIFTEEN: HE COULD HAVE GIVEN UP

"Love . . . endures all things" (1 Corinthians 13:4–7 NASB).

1. Love goes the distance . . . and Christ traveled from limitless eternity to be confined by time in order to become one of us. He didn’t have to. He could have given up. At any step along the way He could have called it quits. At any point Jesus could have said, “That’s it! That’s enough!I’m going home.” But He didn’t. He didn’t, because He is love. And “love . . . endures all things” (1 Cor. 13:4–7 NKJV). He endured the distance. What’s more, He endured the resistance.

2. There were moments when the real Jesus take over. Most of the time He was restrained. But then there were moments when He opened the cape. There were moments when He had all He could take of the bully from hell. When the storm scared His followers, He stood and opened the cape: “Be still!” When death broke the hearts of His friends, He stepped into the cemetery and opened the cape: “Come forth!” When disease stole the joy of His children, He touched the leper with power: “Be healed!“

3. He didn’t give up. The father didn’t quit. He refused to turn and leave. Why? Because his love for his son was greater than the pain of the search. Can’t the same be said about Christ? Why didn’t He quit? Because the love for His children was greater than the pain of the journey. He came to pull you out. Your world had collapsed. That’s why He came. You were dead, dead in sin. That’s why He came. He loves you. That’s why He came.

That’s why He endured the distance between us. “Love . . . endures all things”. That’s why He endured the resistance from us. “Love . . . endures all things”.

4. Why did Jesus do that? There is only one answer. And that answer has one word. Love. And the love of Christ “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Cor. 13:7 NKJV). Think about that for a moment. Drink from that for a moment. Drink deeply. Don’t just sip or nip. It’s time to gulp. It’s time to let his love cover all things in your life. All secrets. All hurts. All hours of evil, minutes of worry.

5. “Hey, where are you?” someone asks. “In here, covered in love”. Let His love cover all things. Do it for His sake. To the glory of His name. Do it for your sake. For the peace of your heart. And do it for their sake. For the people in your life. Let His love fall on you so yours can fall on them.

SIXTEEN: UNFAILING LOVE

"Love never fails" (1 Corinthians 13:8 NIV).

1. Before bringing this book to a close, let’s take inventory. Let’s take stock of our relationships. Think for a moment about the people in your world. If you want to write a few names in the margin, go ahead. Your husband, wife, kids, teachers, friends, parents, carpool buddies, coworkers. Give it some thought. Who populates your circle of the world? As names surface, let me whisper a reminder. Aren’t they valuable? Aren’t they essential? Aren’t those relationships worth whatever it takes to keep them healthy? Granted, people can be difficult. But still, what’s more important than people? If relationships will matter most then, shouldn’t they matter most now?

2. Let’s take inventory of our hearts. Am I living in the overflow of God’s love? How well do I love the people in my life? Does the way I treat people reflect the way God has treated me? Loving people isn’t always easy. You’ve been forced to think again about some of the people in your life whom you find hard to love. This is serious business. It’s not easy to love those who have been the source of heartache, abuse, rejection, or loneliness. Some of you wonder how you could ever love the people who have caused you such pain. So what can you do? 

Could a lack of love imply something else?Could we be skipping a step? An essential step? Could it be that we are trying to give what we don’t have? Are we forgetting to receive first?

3. We have no thermostatic impact on His love for us. The love of God is born from within Him, not from what He finds in us. His love is uncaused and spontaneous. As Charles Wesley said, “He hath loved us. He hath loved us. Because He would love”.

4. God loves you simply because He has chosen to do so. He loves you when you don’t feel lovely. He loves you when no one else loves you. Others may abandon you, divorce you, and ignore you, but God will love you. Always. No matter what. This is His sentiment: “I’ll call nobodies and make them somebodies; I’ll call the unloved and make them beloved” (Rom. 9:25 MSG).

This is His promise. “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to Myself” ( Jer. 31:3 NLT).

5. Don’t forget, love is a fruit. Step into the orchard of God’s work, and what is the first fruit you see? “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Gal. 5:22 NIV). Love is a fruit. A fruit of whom? Of your hard work? Of your deep faith? Of your rigorous resolve? No. Love is a fruit of the Spirit of God. “The Spirit produces the fruit” (Gal. 5:22).

You have one job—to receive nourishment from Jesus. “I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with Me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing” (John 15:5 MSG).