Our most basic need: Agape love.

“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” – 1 John 3:1a. 

In my primary, as well as high school, we had to study the general needs of people in Life Orientation. We would be presented two columns, on the one side the heading would read “Needs”, and the other column would read “Wants”. So every year the teacher would draw the two columns on the black board, and we would put up our hands to help her fill in each column. I guess I remember this tradition so clearly, because I am pretty sure “Playstation” or “Xbox” together with a television would be quite clearly a “need” for the students, and the teacher would try and explain us our folly…. But I think trying to convince a bunch of teenage boys to ‘be realistic’, would be much similar to trying earnestly to convince a fridge to run the comrades… It would need a miracle. I have found though, that the last year I have come face to face with how needs and wants can influence a person’s entire being. How a person’s ‘needs’ and ‘wants’ can rule/control/govern them quite easily. I have felt deeply how hard it is for me to fight these needs and wants, that they do not rule/determine my every action. I have witnessed in myself how many times I confuse my wants with needs. How easily my mind deceived to believe that a specific ‘want’, truly is a ‘need’. I am getting of my topic though. I want to tell you [well, actualy mostly just jot this down so I may remember] that I have solved the riddle! Haha. I have found the answer to the great Life Orientation question of our ‘needs’! If you had to go through the same Life Orientation lessons that I sat through the previous 5 years, then you’ll remember the “Needs” column reading things like “Safety, Acceptance, Love, ect.”. But if I could go back, I would shoot my hand up in the air and insist that the teacher should write one ‘need’ in extremely big letters over the entire column. I will be relentless in my argument, and wouldn’t sit down until I saw one idea written over the entire black board. Our basic need: Agape love. Here follows the reason why I would fight so fiercely to show others that it is the truth:

I am hopelessly in love with India. The rest of the guys and I were there the month of April. It is now September, and my heart is still (if not even more) lost in, and on India. I would be lying if I told you it is because the country itself is so beautiful (even though India really has many unique, breath taking, and mostly challenging beauties to it). My love for the country is due to a few inexplicably brilliant and… just AWESOME orphans. We spent our entire time with India with the orphanage. Getting up at 5am for praise and worship (and many times being just as sleepy eyed as the very young orphans sleeping while standing upright!), digging one big hole (water reserve) until the kiddies returned from school, when we then would be able to play a bit of cricket, soccer (even rugby) with them. Although most of the time we just played games with no point, no rules, and a lot of laughter and joy!! The amount of energy those kids had, made me feel like a senior citizen! And every second they spent playing, even every second they had to sit down and listen (which as we all know REALLY isn’t any little kid’s idea of fun), they spent with… an overwhelming joy! You know (hopefully) the joy I am talking about. That joy that just so contagious that in a few seconds, you find your teeth needing sunshine (to light up with the rest of your face), your stomach laughing whole heartedly, and your whole being igniting with joy/happiness…. and you run, chase or swing (around with your arms) anyone and everyone. We had very little equipment or any means to play with at the orphanage, but I had so much fun… Further, the kids don’t have a lot of possessions. Not cell phones or iPods, no Levi jeans or basketball shoes. They had old holey clothing, and I can’t even remember them wearing anything other than their school shoes. They rarely ever had any sweets/lollies, and never ate anything much else than rice or chapattis with dahl (it was something quite foreign and scary when I saw how many times a month they eat meat, (meaning one or two pieces of chicken), it is probably twice a month). And I’m not trying to subject you to the whole emotional manipulation of “you don’t know how good you’ve got it” ideal… I just really need you to SEE how happy these kids were, how content, at peace joyful and VIBRANT they were in their (according to all worldly, logical standards) poverty.

In the months of June until August, we spent our time in Australia. We were blessed enough to be a part of the holiday camps run by Mountain Trails Christian Adventure Campsite, as well as receiving training in leading on the camps. And it was… the coolest place in existence. Every guy’s dream. Dirt bikes, horses, abseiling, camping, archery, chainsaws (not for the kids though, haha!), driving ‘bakkies’ on some off road trails (nothing too immense, for the fanatics reading) and a whole lot more. Please, don’t miss read my message, I loved being a part of the camps. I still am extremely fond of the kids that were in my teams and cabins, and still pray for them with a fond heart. But sometimes I am extremely sad when I remember some of them. They had, placed in their hands, every fun activity under the sun on the camps! But still, there was so much unhappiness in them. They were kids who had iPhones, iPads, iPods, iAlot… They were equipped with every ‘world need’, but they were so devoid or empty from any ‘heart’s needs’. So much anger, depression, and hopeless hearts, they wore on their faces every day. Not all of the kids were Christians coming to the camps. [And in a big sense, those that were Christians, had a blast! I apologize if this sounds like indoctrination, but it is TRULY what I experienced] I have to state though, my heart remembers more clearly those that weren’t. The kids that didn’t know Christ’s love. It is their faces I mostly see when I pray for the people I met in Australia. (Although I really find my heart warming when I think of the kids and other fellow Christians that shared in the Lord’s joy!! And you guys are in my prayers just as much! I love you guys!! Alright, I’ll stop with: I really miss you guys.)  They were kids with every means to fun possible! They did activities that were so exiting, that every camp that I was cabin leader, I felt like I was ten years old, and every day was better than Ratanga Junction! Unfortunately, I had to see a lot of the kids still extremely unhappy every day, and no activity could give them lasting joy.  [I would like to give praise and honour to our Lord and Saviour here, because through His working we were privileged to see a lot of the struggling kids find lasting Joy. I praise You Jesus!] 

I struggled on the camps with this reality. I just wanted them to also have the same amazing, insanely fun time I was having together with some of the other kids!! But a lot of the times, I couldn’t prevail. So I had to ask: Why? We had so little physical material to have fun with in India, yet we all (every kid) had an exploding amount of fun every day! Where in Australia, even with dirt bikes, horses, archery, camping, ect., there was still so much sadness written over every day of some of the kids. I prayed and God showed me: these kids even though they have every physical provision, are so poor. I stood in awe when the Holy Spirit showed me how poor those kids in Australia were (and some still are). Yes, they had iPhones and every physical provision their needed, but when it came to their most basic need, the concrete under their entire “house of life”, they were barren. Poor. They could not build themselves a lasting house, with rooms filled with joy, love and peace, because their most basic need, their ground level was non-existent. They never started building their lives on agape love. Where the  kids of India, with all their physical lack of logical “needs”, were rich! Every day we would praise and worship our God at 5 o’clock in the morning, 3o’clock in the afternoon, and again 5 o’clock the afternoon, and in these moments the kids were able to draw from the Source of Life, and fill their most basic need: Agape love. The love of God. The love of Jesus Christ. The true love of a perfect Father. Yes, these orphans still had a lot of pain and questions, but they had and lived Life, fully! And… Wow, I still wonder at how vibrantly they lived, in Him!

So, I want to end of with a yearning heart’s encouragement. You brothers and sisters who are telling others about Christ, and God’s love. When you are showing them that they simply cannot find lasting joy, cannot be fulfilled and content for a long period, because of unredeemed sin, that KILLS their soul. When you are pleading with them that Christ wants, yearns to end their every day’s (spirit’s) death that Satan push them down with, you are being used to bring Life to the dead. I long to break into a rolling laugh with you at how happy I am for myself and every one of you, my brothers and sisters, who are finding that there is a solution though: Christ died to wash that sin from your soul. That on a cross thousands of years ago, your needed foundations were poured into your heart! Life was poured into your soul. Your soul now lives... vibrantly with, and in Him. And I would want to sing with each and every one of you from a mountain top, singing praises to Christ that He is our basic need, and that we can freely receive Him! I thank You, Jesus my Saviour, that You have given me everything I need, simply by existing. God, my Father, I praise you that You are my only need, and that you chose me as a son! I am speechless Lord.

Thank you, brother and sister in Christ, that you are being used by God powerfully in providing to the world their most basic need, Life. Please, look for every opportunity to tell others of Christ’s love in your life, because they are inexplicably poor without Him. They are… dead without Christ. Satan kills them with depression filled with small highs. Alcohol filled with a facade, fake face of happiness that hides the lust, pain, emotional destruction. He kills them with atheism, devoid of purpose. Thank you for showing, telling them that with Him, we are rich. We MUST share with others our freely obtained wealth.

I hope you can find more of God’s joy, and I pray you will let the Holy Spirit ignite other’s souls through you. My heart and love is with you, because my heart and love is with Christ, and He is in you.

[Read please John 17:20-26]