In the Name of Love
Hateful. Intolerant. Narrow minded. Hypocrites.
Some words used by the world to describe Christians. But wait! Christians? Aren’t we supposed to be known in a different way?
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:35 (NIV)
Love is the trademark of Christianity. It is the telltale sign that we have been with Jesus. That we are His followers. The Bible says that God is love. (I John 4:8) Let that soak in for a moment. He IS love. He does not just feel love. He does not just talk about love. He is the embodiment of love. The person of love. When we receive Him as Lord, His nature comes to dwell inside of us. We then have a new nature. A nature of love.
So why then do so many of us fall short from demonstrating this God kind of love to the world? I think that largely it is because we do not spend enough time studying what the Bible has to say about love. When we do, we realize that love is not just something you say as you head out the door, but rather, it is the primary motivation for all that we do.
Jesus is our Great Example. We are Christ followers. If we were to play the child’s game of Follow the Leader, with Jesus at the head of the pack, what would that look like?
We would be drawn to the hurting. We would reach out to minister healing to the sick. We would accept those that the world rejects. We would speak truth in love to people. Not what they want to hear. But pure, unadulterated truth. But not with hatefulness, with love. It takes more love to speak truth than to speak pretty lies. Everyone wants to be liked and accepted. There is no personal risk when we tell people what they want to hear.
“Do these pants make me look fat?”
“What do you think of my brownies?”
“Is it really wrong to live with someone, if we are truly in love?”
To each one of these questions there is a truthful answer. But truth need not be yelled. We do not need to swing our Bibles at people in a frenzied rant. We can just honestly say what is true, all the while showing love, dignity and respect for the other person. (Who by the way, is created in God’s image and for His glory.)
And that is just showing love to unbelievers. All the more should we, in the household of faith, embody true love to one another.
As we enter the season of love, give yourself a love check up. Does it fit these parameters (I Cor. 13)?
- Love is patient
- love is kind.
- It does not envy,
- it does not boast,
- it is not proud.
- It does not dishonor others,
- it is not self-seeking,
- it is not easily angered,
- it keeps no record of wrongs.
- Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
- It always protects,
- always trusts,
- always hopes,
- always perseveres.
- Love never fails
Dear God, help me to have an intentional love walk. Let me be kind, loving and patient with people. But also, give me holy boldness and courage to speak the truth. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
amen amen
Powerful message about sharing the truth in love. You are right; we need to be more compassionate than being right.
So true, If we are not showing love & grace what are we as Christians showing others? And why would they want what we have if we aren’t? Thank you Sherri for your obedience to Gods call on your life and the willingness to share your thoughts & his word !