Love isn't about what's in it for me, it's about what's inside me

​Last week I was in Richmond delivering shoes I'd helped gather for Soles4Souls. While I was there, I had a beautiful conversation with my friend Stephanie who directs the operations at the Richmond facility.

We talked about my upcoming trip to the Soles4Souls headquarters in Nashville. I was headed there in a few days to run the final miles of my 1,270 mile summer race to promote the work Soles4Souls does to fight poverty around the world. I was telling Stephanie what an impact my trip to Honduras had on me last year, and especially how much my heart had been transformed by my friend Raul, who I'd met while I was there.

Friday, when I finished that race in Nashville and stepped into the Soles4Souls office to cool off, there was a surprise waiting for me.

The team walked me over to a computer screen sitting on a desk. As I looked down at it, there was my buddy Raul in Honduras. He'd been videoed in to offer his congratulations and thanks. My friend Stephanie began arranging this ending to my race after we had our conversation last week.

I was overwhelmed by my conversation with Raul. I love that guy. But as I reflected on it afterward on the drive home, I was equally overwhelmed by the way Stephanie showed love for me in that moment. She was on that video call as well, and you could see how much being able to make that connection filled her heart.

The beautiful thing about Stephanie, and it's why she is such a great friend, she was motivated by love only. She wasn't looking for anything from me, or from her boss or from anyone at all. She just wanted to freely give love.

You know, there are so many stories in the bible when Jesus goes into people's lives and just loves on them. After reading many of those stories I'm left wondering, what did the people he loved go on to do after those encounters? How did their lives change? What did they do to thank Jesus for all he did for them?

I'm left wondering - what is the rest of the story?

What Stephanie did for me Friday is a reminder that love IS the rest of the story. Maybe Jesus so often left out the part about how many lives were changed by his love to remind us love isn't all about changing someone else's life, it's about us living life with hearts on fire.

Love isn't about what's in it for me, it's about what's living in me -and maybe - WHO is living in me.