Monday Reflections: Acts of Love or Loving Ourselves Free

In these uncertain times in higher education, we asked UM chaplains what gives them hope.
For the next six weeks, we’ll share their reflections to encourage and strengthen you in your work and ministry.

“It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you
don’t use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your
freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that’s how freedom
grows. For everything we know about God’s Word is summed up in a single sentence:
Love others as you love yourself. That’s an act of true freedom.
– Galations 5:13-14

Immediacy to the needs of others, and intentionality in how we engage will enable all of us as believers to make an impact that helps others and also ourselves. Photo courtesy of the Rev. Anita Mays

The Rev. Dr. Tonya L. Miles, Chaplain at Clark Atlanta University

Once we emerged from the pandemic, many of us left our newfound solace and freedom behind. We resumed our hectic schedules, which actually seem busier now than they were before the pandemic. And even though busyness has a way of shrinking our world and limiting our freedom, we, surprisingly, have not bothered to slowed down.

When our schedules overflow and demands pile up, many of us tend to turn inward — protecting our time, our comfort and our control. As a result, we forget others, not always out of selfishness, but out of exhaustion. We prioritize for preservation and our purpose becomes our focus.

Even though we are called to be in relationship with one another, we are less likely to do so these days. We need community, but we avoid it. After the pandemic, we left the comfort of the on-screen persona. No longer muted and invisible, we awkwardly returned to face-to-face communication that has become more challenging in our deeply divided, “us vs. them” cancel culture. Sure, we want to change and of course, we know that we should change, but the “how” of it all remains a conundrum.

Recently, I received a message from a student a few hours after she successfully led a group in a community service project. In the message, she shared that she, a first semester first-year student, had not realized how much she needed to take a break from studying. Not only did she enjoy serving others that day, but she also appreciated the time to clear her head and to connect with her peers. She also shared that the event was the “spotlight of her week.” Then, she thanked me for inviting her to lead, and signed off with a heart emoji.

Paul reminds us that we were set free from sin not so that we could serve ourselves, but so that we could serve others. True freedom is not doing whatever we want — it is being free to love without fear, to give without keeping score, and to serve without regard for difference. Freedom in Christ is love focused, which overcomes all of the things that divide us.

At a time when we, as human beings, seem so disconnected, these simple acts, one to another, help us to see one another and to reconnect. These acts remind us of what really matters and they reawaken our hearts.

Acts of love remind us that our faith isn’t proven by how busy we are, or even how strongly we hold onto our opinions, but by how willing we are to bend low and to care for others. When we serve, we remember what truly matters: love expressed through action.

With every act of service that I am blessed to engage in with these wonderful young people, I find myself more hopeful for our society. Consistently, our students respond immediately to the call to volunteer and they show up with intentionality, which results in an experience that is impactful for others and also for them. They want to make a difference and I believe that they will lead us in making a difference as well. Immediacy to the needs of others, and intentionality in how we engage will enable all of us as believers to make an impact that helps others and also ourselves.