memories made in Mexico (dos)

after living for 2 weeks in a city with around 1.5 million people it starts to sink in...

God sure loves people.

and each one of those people has a life. has a personality. has a soul and a spirit. has dreams and aspirations. has struggles. has friends. is looking for purpose and meaning. is being pursued by God and His love. and some of them are running away from God. some of them are running towards God. some are running but don't know where. 

that last group of people break my heart. but it breaks the heart of God more. and he knows each of those people by name. He knows their hearts and their minds. He knows everything about them. He made each one of them and has know them since the creation of the world. 

these reminders have opened my eyes because i was wondering what my purpose for being here in Guadalajara was and is. and at first i was convinced it was helping my cousins (which it is, partly...) and then i thought it might be changing peoples lives...

 but why me? why should i be the one to ‘change lives?’ what makes me so special? is it just because i am from the united states? do i think i am better than the beautiful people here just because i was born in a country of plenty?

NO! everyone is equal at the foot of the cross. we all have struggles and we all sin and we all need Jesus Christ. everyone. and Jesus loves everyone. He loves every single person on this planet and He created everyone and knows each one of us by name. 

Jesus loves you.

Jesus loves me.

Jesus loves every single person here in Guadalajara. and He knows each of them by name. 

He is the one who is going to be changing lives here. not me. yeah sure, He might use me but life isn’t about me...

life is about Jesus. 

and so, after being reminded of the simple-yet-not-so-simple truths, i have been remembering that God has a plan for this city. He is the God of this city. not me. He is in charge. not me. He loves each and every one of the 1.5 million people here in Guadalajara so much more than me. and He is the ONLY one who can change lives. 

Jesus is the God of this city.

Jesus is the King of these people.

Jesus is the Lord of this nation.

and greater things are still to be done here! 

(with or without me. because life is about Jesus and what He is doing in the hearts and lives of the Guadalajarans!)