love[ers] in japan.

I recently was forwarded an email from my new friend, Joel. (We’ve met once and hung out, so in my world, that means friends.) He is on a short-term mission trip to Okinawa, and shared some of the things he and his team are doing, and I was really touched by one activity in particular.

“…Instead of a political or business agenda, the signs have encouraging phrases or words on them such as "You are beautiful" "We love you" "You are amazing."  In Hawaii, we usually just stand at corners and wave/shaka/smile/shout at people.  This time, we did all this but we MARCHED!  So if you can imagine over 50 people with signs walking around downtown Naha waving/shouting/smiling/blessing people that pass by whether, they are just walking, hanging out, or in their cars…”

This then led me to another thought I had just read about in my friend Natalie’s blog:

Loved people love people.

Isn’t that the truth? One of the most over-arching themes of the gospel, boiled down into one single point? 

Think about all the things love is: patient, kind, humble, not jealous, believing, hoping, sustaining.

We can not do things with out love. By the same token, if we have received the most epic love of all, we are able to love in the most epic of ways. The world would never be the same if everyone moved and lived and breathed to this realization.

What a gift. 

(take that, los angeles).