Jesus told the religious leaders of his day, “’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40, NKJV).
I remember clearly that I once said aloud in the supermarket, “I hate people!” People were what caused me to feel insecure and run out of classrooms when they turned their attention to me. I believed that people put unrealistic demands on me. That’s why I used to retreat to my mom and dad’s cottage on a lake in the Canadian wilderness and be completely alone and completely at peace. I didn’t need or want anyone around. The way I saw it, people were the problem. People were a source of pain to me.
That’s why it is so amazing that God turned me around 180 degrees. Now people are a great joy to me, and the only pain I feel when it comes to people is that they might not get to heaven. To me the whole journey has been made worthwhile by this, and it’s not a feigned thing. I never learned how to fake love in a convincing way. I pray with six or seven guys from the church every morning, and each time we close off, I say, “I love you.” And I mean it.
Loving others is not possible in a human sense. The Lord taught me that it is about loving what he is doing in my life and others. It’s about seeing myself and others in the light of Jesus Christ. When we start looking at people this way, we have a new perspective.
I have seen the witness of Christ in many ways over my lifetime. I’ve seen miracles, particularly overseas. I’ve seen tens of thousands come to Christ in one moment. I’ve seen genocide stopped. I’ve seen great sweeps of God’s almighty hand.
“But what’s the greatest miracle of them all?” you might ask.
“That I love people,” I would be compelled to answer.
The fact that I can genuinely express love now is an open door that I walked through and for which I am eternally grateful.
Carter Conlon joined the pastoral staff of Times Square Church in 1994 and was appointed Senior Pastor in 2001. In May of 2020 he transitioned into a continuing role as General Overseer of Times Square Church, Inc.