In my thirty plus years of speaking and walking people through miraculous encounters with a God who cares for them, no matter who they are or where they have come from, I have realized a few things. I’ve traveled to sixty-six different countries and have had the opportunity to sit and talk with people from various classes and cultures…from billionaires to the homeless. My belief in God’s hope is not grounded merely on something I’ve read, but in the lives I see across the world every day.

The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.” Saint Augustine

We all kind of want the same thing. As unique as the world’s cultures are, if you speak to English millionaires, Irish farmers, impoverished Islanders, Nigerian fishermen and Swedish university students, in their own languages, you start to see that we are all very much alike.

We all experience setbacks and failures. We all seem to have the simple desire to feel loved, experience happiness, find a sense of security, be affirmed, and hold on to a hope of something greater.

It is interesting how people pray across the world and in different circumstances they are facing. In the United States, I hear a lot of prayers concerning new employment or a new husband or even more money. In parts of Africa, I hear a lot of prayers about health and protection. In areas that were recently affected by a natural disaster, I heard a lot of prayer for food, electricity and sustainability. In Europe, I heard the prayers for vision and hope. Across the globe, we all are reaching out to God for different needs and desires…things we deem necessary. We all desire love.

“We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go.” Hebrews 6:18

As large as the world is, it becomes very small when you begin to understand that our neighbors are not just the people living next door, but the farmers in Thailand, the singers in Nashville, the homeless in Los Angeles, the Club Owner in Miami, the Chef in London and the young soccer player in South Africa. We are all neighbors. When we were persuaded to love God and Love our Neighbor, we stepped into something bigger than we may have ever realized. We stepped into a world view that connects all of us to one simple truth…we all have the ability, no matter our resources, to embrace AND distribute love.

How will you embrace and distribute love today? Will you let class or culture separate you from being persuaded to Love God and Love others?