As women surrounded by family responsibilities, personal goals, grocery lists and unwashed laundry, it is sometimes too easy to become focused on our own lives and forget that there is a world beyond ourselves that God loves dearly. We sometimes do this even as Christian women who may be active in church and sincerely trying to get our devotional lives together. Sometimes even though we are involved in good things, we become focused on our own spiritual life and serving in the local church that we forget that God continually calls us to look beyond ourselves and to the world out there. Christian maturity involves turning our eyes off of ourselves and onto God and those He loves.

The Bible records God's choosing of Israel to be a special people for Himself. But God did not choose Israel just so she could enjoy God's blessings. God chose her so that she could be a blessing to the nations around her. She was called to be a light pointing to the true God that all peoples would recognize. And that is what we are called to be as well.

God so loved the world that He gave (John 3:16). He gave His only Son for us. Can you imagine how much God loves you and me and the world around us? It is hard to generate love for others on our own, but as we realize and experience God's love for us, He will begin to give us His love for the world. There are some practical ways to begin expressing His love for the world. The following are some suggestions.

1. Ask God to give you His love for others. Ask Him to make your heart like His, to love the things that He loves, to hate the things He hates, and to be broken for the things that make His heart break.

2. Interceed for the world. Many times our prayers revolve around ourselves, our families, and maybe our friends. But God wants us to pray beyond our own spheres of daily life. God may give you a burden to pray for a specific people group or nation. Or you may want to use a Prayer Calendar to pray for unreached people groups. Whatever you choose to do, it is a step in the right direction.

3. Notice people. Most of the time, we see people as machines or landscape, and not as people. When we go to a restaurant, we usually view our waiters as machine, built to serve us. Get one order wrong, and we sigh in disgust. When we go to the mall, the people around us are landscape. We kind of like it that they are there but we don't really care much about them. But if you stop and really look at people with God's heart, you begin to notice the pain behind their eyes, or the needs in the lives. Sometimes God will give us an encouraging word to say, or we can pray for them.

4. Give generously. There are many ways to give. You can give of your time and volunteer with a soup kitchen, hospice, or missions group. You can also give of your finances. Sponsor a child in another country. Give to a missions organization which you believe strongly in.

Related Links
AD 2000 and Beyond
Last Days Ministries
Maoz Israel
Voice of the Martyrs
World Vision