To Love as Jesus Loved
We're going to have to learn to love as Jesus loved. Not compromise what the Bible says, but we're obviously not loving people enough. We preach, we teach, we advocate for our causes, and that is all fine. But we are going to have to learn to love 1) one another the way Jesus loved and 2) others the way Jesus loved. "By this will all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:35) He laid down his life for others. He calls us to do the same. Not just have prayer meetings. Am I doing it perfectly? Not saying that.
We can be against abortion and same-sex marriage without ceasing to be loving. And God will allow in this culture whatever we need to get us where we need to be as his people. The reason people are looking elsewhere than to God for the love they need is because they have no idea about the love of God that is the only thing that will draw us to him.
I can testify for myself that it was the LOVE of a handful of Christians God finally used to turn me around. Faithful people preaching Romans 3:23 and John 3:16 for sure, but much more than that. They came after me. They sought me out. They went where I was.
He didn't say we would save everybody ( he said we would save "some") but he did say we were to love everybody. "To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some." (I Corinthians 9:22)
It is love that people are hungry for. Yes, Jesus said those who do not believe in him were judged already (John 3:18). We're supposed to be loving them, letting them know what God's love has done for us, and not just saying, "What he's done for us he'll do for you," but rather showing love. Have we learned how to do that? Are we praying for that? Are we letting God deal with us to make us more loving?
We have the advantage of knowing that when it's all over those who were faithful to God and his word will overcome but we also have a responsibility to the others. That's a huge responsibility. I don't want anybody's blood on my hands. But that does not mean I can be cold and indifferent to people, whether they are in church or not.
Not meaning to be condemning but first we need to learn how to love each other better than we have been doing. We haven't even got that right yet. God help us.
"I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish." (Romans 1:14)
We can be against abortion and same-sex marriage without ceasing to be loving. And God will allow in this culture whatever we need to get us where we need to be as his people. The reason people are looking elsewhere than to God for the love they need is because they have no idea about the love of God that is the only thing that will draw us to him.
I can testify for myself that it was the LOVE of a handful of Christians God finally used to turn me around. Faithful people preaching Romans 3:23 and John 3:16 for sure, but much more than that. They came after me. They sought me out. They went where I was.
He didn't say we would save everybody ( he said we would save "some") but he did say we were to love everybody. "To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some." (I Corinthians 9:22)
It is love that people are hungry for. Yes, Jesus said those who do not believe in him were judged already (John 3:18). We're supposed to be loving them, letting them know what God's love has done for us, and not just saying, "What he's done for us he'll do for you," but rather showing love. Have we learned how to do that? Are we praying for that? Are we letting God deal with us to make us more loving?
We have the advantage of knowing that when it's all over those who were faithful to God and his word will overcome but we also have a responsibility to the others. That's a huge responsibility. I don't want anybody's blood on my hands. But that does not mean I can be cold and indifferent to people, whether they are in church or not.
Not meaning to be condemning but first we need to learn how to love each other better than we have been doing. We haven't even got that right yet. God help us.
"I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish." (Romans 1:14)
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