Urban Youth Hear About Agape Love
|
"I'm not talking about the kind of love between a man and woman, that has its limits. One day you are in love, and the next day you don't want to be bothered," he said in an interview given before he spoke on Aug. 7 at Church of the Servant CRC in Grand Rapids, Mich. Sponsored by Christian Reformed Home Missions, the Urban Youth 2009 conference provided time for young people to get together and learn more about God through a variety of activities. Workshops, small groups, and prayer and meal times were spent sharing ideas and getting to know one another. Many, but not all, of the young people belong to CRC congregations; some didn't come from any church at all. Overall, the conference was geared to spark an interest among young people to have a passion for living and spreading the message of Jesus. In his talk, Hudson decided to tackle a subject that in the mind of many youths is tied to sexual expression or simply "being in love" with another person. He knew that he had a tough, young audience, but he told them about the kind of love that transcends anything that mainstream society has to offer. The type of love he spoke about did not deal with teenage hormones. "I’m talking about God's love and showing God's love," said Hudson, associate pastor at Roseland CRC in Chicago, Ill. "I'm talking about the kind of love that doesn't set expectations. This is not the version of love young people see from athletes or from Hollywood." Above all, he said, love is about respect and realizing that everyone wants to love and be loved. When you show someone true respect, you allow them to be who they are, to make mistakes, and, hopefully, to decide to embrace the message of Christ in the Bible. "It is definitely a mixed bag. There is the love that is shown in the home. On a personal basis, when I wanted to be loved, God put people in my life, like my auntie, who showed it to me. She showed it to me like I was her son, not her nephew," said Hudson. Agape love not only shows respect, it eliminates limitations on how it ought to be expressed to others. It is also about sacrifice. It is about giving to others without looking for anything in return. People like Robert Kennedy, the brother of President John F. Kennedy, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., were like that. Each was killed, or you might say sacrificed, for trying to show people another way to love, said Hudson. When he looked over the young people at the conference, he didn't see young men and women who were dressed in baggy clothes and talking nonsense to one another. He saw doctors and lawyers and teachers, and "leaders in the CRC," said Hudson. "You have to look at things with the right kind of eyes, with the eyes of God." God's love, he also said, is not limited by geography. "Agape love is everywhere, if you look at things from the inside. It is in urban areas and in the middle of cornfields." Agape love, he said, is patient and asks that we not predetermine outcomes. "We can be the planted seed that someone else waters and then God is the one that makes us grow and is the increase," he said. —Chris Meehan, CRC Communications |
August 11, 2009 – More than 170 young people from cities all over North America gathered recently to hear Rev. Glenn Hudson give a challenging message about love—the kind of agape love that Jesus Christ promoted and not the type of love as portrayed in popular culture.