One of my favorite quotes from Theodore Roosevelt is, “Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.” That statement has deep meaning when applied to our Christian life and testimony.
Between the ages of 14 and 18, I thought I knew everything that was worth knowing and I was not hesitant to share my knowledge with anyone who would listen. I could quote the great people of that time as well as philosophers and wise men and women of the past. Fortunately, when I began to date Carol, that older woman (by 13 months) with a Mona Lisa smile, and shared all of my knowledge with her, she listened quietly and saw that beyond all of it was the love and caring Spirit from God, which she shared. Some people say “opposites attract”. While it was true Carol was shy and I was bold, we were not opposites. We simply had different strengths and together we were stronger than we could ever have been on our own. By the time she died six years ago, ten months after our 50th wedding anniversary, the list of things I don’t know had grown long. It continues to grow each day, but God’s love and caring Spirit within me has grown stronger and I’ve developed lasting relationships as a result. People do need to know that you care.
In order to live the Christian life to its fullest, we need to know God’s word; not just from memory, but understand its application for us. The more we study, not just read, God’s word the Holy Spirit will show us how it applies to us and prompt us to put it into action in our life. The miracle of scripture is that you and I will find exactly what we each need. But there are universal applications that apply to all Christians and the most important of all is to love God with everything we have and love others around us, even those who aren’t lovable. After all, God loved us before we were lovable.
Caring is simply love in action. At this stage of my life I’m not looking for romantic love, I’ve had that experience, but there is a very long list of men and women I love and care about deeply and I make sure they all know it. I think that is why they actually care about the things I do know and write about in my blog.
Do your friends and family members care how much you know, because they know how much you care?