Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu: One way street

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus. Philippians 2:3-5

“Love is a one way street. It always moves away from self in the direction of the other. Love is the ultimate gift of our selves to others. When we stop giving we stop loving, when we stop loving we stop growing, and unless we grow we will never attain personal fulfillment; we will never open out to receive the life of God. It is through love we encounter God.”

Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, also known as Mother Teresa (1910-1997) in Where There Is Love, There Is God Her Path to Closer Union with God and Greater Love for Others (New York: Crown Publishing Group, 2012) 26.

I had never thought of love as a one way street, but it fits. It makes sense. And there are a lot of places like Albania where the streets are narrow and one way streets cannot go both ways.

And notice the role of giving on this one way street. It’s the catalyst. When we stop giving, we stop loving and we stop growing. Think about it. Generous people are full of love and vibrant growth.

What about you? I am giving, loving, and growing this week with a group of colleagues that are serving around the world. By spending time together and encouraging each other, we are growing together.

Is there someone to whom you can give, love, and grow with today? Might this be the pathway for you to receive the life of God, for through loving, we really do encounter God.

Praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:47

“Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time and always start with the person nearest you.”

Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, also known as Mother Teresa (1910-1997).

I really loved this short statement from Mother Teresa about numbers. “Help one person at a time and always start with the person nearest you.”

I have learned over the years to serve the “receptive” and let God take care of the numbers. Serving the receptive happens one at a time.

Then, the Lord is the One who sorts the numbers, who added to the numbers of the early church and to the work of Mother Teresa and to GTP.

Seriously, click here to see the GTP at 5 infographic. See the meaning of big numbers like 6,986 or 105,932. Because of His love and faithfulness, I resolve to keep trusting Him for provision to do it.

Is God stretching you? Is He leading you to serve a receptive person close by? Is He calling you to trust Him for the provision to do it?

I find that when I look at the numbers He put up in the book of Acts and that He puts up today, it reminds me He can do more than I could ever ask or imagine.

I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ. Ephesians 3:16-18

“I have a primary responsibility to myself; to make myself into the best person I can possibly be. Then and only then, will I have something worthwhile to share. I have found the paradox that if I love until it hurts, then there is no hurt, but only more love.”

Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, also known as Mother Teresa (1910-1997).

When you read this I will have arrived in Frankfurt, Germany, and connected to Tirana, Albania. There I will attend a conference and then do GTP program work to activate another working group to form a peer accountability group like ECFA in USA.

Though my schedule seems crazy sometimes, like yours I am sure, I find that the personal discipline of spending time with Jesus (regardless of where I am) helps me be the best person I can be and also fills my cup with God’s love so I can love others well.

This comes into view as our primary responsibility, especially if we want to exhibit generosity, as it marks the pathway to dispensing abundance. Many people don’t like the “love until it hurts” idea. Such people forget the cross altogether.

Embrace it. Step out of your comfort zone. Love until it hurts. Sacrifice yourself and your resources. You won’t find yourself empty, but rather enriched for greater generosity. And you also find that God replaces the hurt with more love.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31

“I want you to be concerned about your next door neighbor. Do you know your next door neighbor?”

Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, also known as Mother Teresa (1910-1997).

Mark and Maleka are our neighbors on the right. They just had a baby boy. And Michael and Claire on the left. He’s a United Airlines pilot so we talk about flying a lot.

Knowing the name of your neighbor is the first step to loving them. Learn your neighbor’s names today if you don’t already know them. You’ve got to start somewhere.

And say a prayer for me as I fly to Frankfurt, Germany, and connect to Tirana, Albania today.

I will attend a conference and then have GTP program work to grow accountability and generosity in Albania. I’ll share more as the week unfolds.

You belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God. 1 Corinthians 3:23

“I am Albanian by birth. Now I am a citizen of India. I am also a Catholic nun. In my work, I belong to the whole world. But in my heart, I belong to Christ.”

Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, also known as Mother Teresa (1910-1997).

I am home for 48 hours and celebrating my granddaughter’s second birthday today. Off to Albania tomorrow. So I thought I’d study Albanian saints. And a simple search revealed that Mother Teresa was Albanian.

I loved the last part of her statement: “In my work, I belong to the whole world. But in my heart, I belong to Christ.” I want to echo that. Care to join me?

Only when we live in light of the reality that we “belong” to Christ can we have significant impact like Mother Teresa. We cease living for ourselves and instead we live, give, serve, and love for God.

Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Psalm 25:5

“The wider our contemplation of creation, the grander is our conception of God.”

Cyril (born Constantine) the Apostle to the Slavs (826–869).

Jenni and I fly from Vienna to Frankfurt to Denver today. We are thankful. God granted us fruitful ministry in Ukraine, Czechia, and Slovakia.

And over the course of 2+ weeks I have served with my dear friend and brother, Milan Hluchý. His expertise centers in the ecologization of agriculture and I work in the ecologization of ministry.

In plain terms, we understand God’s ordered design and help nurture that environment to foster fruitfulness.

He does it in vineyards and with crops and I do it with churches and ministries. We learned a lot from each other. But the biggest lesson for me linked to the “contemplation of creation” as Cyril put it.

The more we study the creation the more we understand the Creator.

And generosity comes into view because His care for creation is unfathomable. When we match it, we contribute to flourishing and fruitfulness. Is it time for you to get outside for some contemplation of creation?

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 1 Corinthians 15:20-22

“Death was given by God as a gift to those who had sinned for this purpose: that evil might not remain immortal.”

Methodius (c. 815-885) Apostle to the Slavs, as cited by Ilaria Ramelli in A Larger Hope? (2019) 70.

As I wrap up work in the Slavic world, I wanted to get a last word from Methodius, Apostle to the Slavs.

It offered me word of an unexpected gift having witnessed some of the horrors of war and the darkness of sin and brokenness in recent days. I had never thought of death as a gift that does away with sin.

And I saw this redemptive idea in the meetings in Mikulov, Czechia, taking place in the shadow of Holy Hill (pictured above).

When we put to death our sloppy stewardship, bad management, and disengaged governance, we write a new story and experience new life in church and ministry settings.

On the final day, it has been encouraging to watch the national workers engage in the discussion.

They are identifying the issues in their context that need to die as a first step toward fostering life in the churches and ministries of post-Christian Europe. I think today marks a new future for them.

A working group has formed to establish a peer accountability group for Czechia and Slovakia. Praise the LORD.

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Ephesians 4:1

“Hear my prayer and protect your faithful people, for you have established me as their unsuitable and unworthy servant. “Make your people known for the unity and profession of their faith. Inspire the hearts of your people with your word and your teaching. You called us to preach the gospel of your Christ and to encourage them to lives and works pleasing to you. “I now return to you, your people, your gift to me. Direct them with your powerful right hand, and protect them under the shadow of your wings. May all praise and glorify your name, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.”

Cyril (born Constantine) the Apostle to the Slavs (826–869) in an old Slavonic biography of Saint Cyril.

The GTP meetings are going well in Mikulov, Czech Republic. I turned to Cyril as I have served in Slavic settings for a few weeks and I wanted to see what they might contribute to my current experience.

This prayer not only seemed fitting, it matched my experience to the letter.

I pray for the unity and protection of these people. I want them inspired by the Word of God. I have asked God for this Czechia and Slovakia region, not for my sake, but to return them to God as a gift.

And it’s happening. Keep praying for the birthing of a working group to form a peer accountability group here.

Our setting stands in the shadow of holy hill, on which, Jenni and I walked the Stations of the Cross yesterday with Steve Kerr (GTP Regional Facilitator for South Pacific) and his wife, Kate, before our event started.

May God unite and direct this group with His powerful right hand for His glory.

And join me in giving thanks for one more thing. GTP turns 5 today. Reply for a copy of the “GTP at 5” infographic that celebrates the fruits of five years of service.

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. Romans 8:18

“If the Lord should give you power to raise the dead, He would give much less than He does when he bestows suffering. By miracles you would make yourself debtor to Him, while by suffering He may become debtor to you. And even if sufferings had no other reward than being able to bear something for that God who loves you, is not this a great reward and a sufficient remuneration? Whoever loves, understands what I say.”

John Chrysostom (c. 247-407).

I have suffering on my mind. I experienced it for a short season. Others continue to endure it.

God must have some really awesome stuff in mind for the people of Ukraine because they continue to endure so much suffering. I wonder if He is refining them for a harvest of souls.

And while I was there, I saw both miracles and suffering with my friend Milan.

On our journey, Milan quoted Albert Einstein, who said, “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”

I like this vision that everything around us is a miracle, including the enduring of suffering.

How do you suffer? Sometimes I shine. Often I whine. And I don’t see it as a great reward. I have room for growth here in life after Lent.

What about you? How might our perspective on suffering need to change to become something we welcome for our refinement?

Jenni and I are in Mikulov, Czech Republic, with Gabriel Hakulin, GTP Regional Facilitator for Europe, and his wife Majka, and Steve Kerr, GTP Regional Facilitator for South Pacific, and his wife, Kate.

Today, we will welcome about 25 influential Christian professionals, pastors, and ministry workers for meetings on 2-4 April 2024 aimed at activating a peer accountability group (like ECFA in USA) for Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Pray for the Holy Spirit to lead and guide every person and every aspect of these meetings for the glory of God and the transformation of ministry administration and governance in Eastern Europe.

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich. 2 Corinthians 8:9

“The rich man is not one who is in possession of much, but one who gives much.”

Basil of Caesarea (339-370) in Homily II, Concerning the Statues.

We observed Easter in Ukraine. It was a rich time with a young couple from the seminary where Jenni taught. The blessed us with hospitality.

Each of us — Jenni, Milan, and me — has received enthusiastic and strategic invitations to return to Ukraine. We pray God will open the door for continued service to receptive people here.

We pray for God to guide us in discerning what to do with these invitations as our lives and our schedules are not our own. They belong to the one who redeemed us with His blood.

After church and lunch yesterday afternoon, we rode a bus from Lviv, Ukraine, to Košice, Slovakia. That was hard. The border crossing took 5.5 hours. We got to Košice at 3:15am.

Today, we connect by train to Bratislava at 11:30am, then to Mikulov, Czech Republic, from 2-4 April 2024, to activate working group to form a peer accountability group here (like ECFA in USA).

In life after Lent, our mindset toward everything should shift. Regarding possessions, instead of focusing on getting we focus on giving. In this light, rich is the person, like Jesus, who gave much.

What does giving “much” look like for you in your life after Lent. Everything has changed with Easter. Now it’s go time! What do you have that you can give to God?