January 18, 2015

A Love Like This

Let me first say that if you haven’t read my previous post, To Be Loved, then I suggest you take a few minutes, scroll down, and read that before you continue on here. 

With that being said, this message has been on my heart for a while now. 

In my last post, I talked about how God created each one of us to be loved. His purpose for our lives is that we would recognize and experience just how great His affections are for each one of us. He says to you and me, “You, (fill in your name here), are my delight!” 

We have to make that statement personal. We have to sit still long enough for God to communicate that into our hearts in a way that only He can. Without ever truly experiencing His love, we will find ourselves in danger of falling into a religious life based upon our own deeds. And we know that our deeds do not save us. His love does!

I am aware that the rest of this message is hard to live out without experiencing this love. To love fully, we must be loved fully. With this in mind, I make my plea. 

We, the church, have a problem. We have missed the central message that Jesus Christ came to teach. We have forgotten how to love. Somehow, we have shifted the teachings of Christ a bit. Rather than accepting all people, we welcome in those who look like us, speak like us, and believe what we believe. We say we love, but we are actually only loving those whom Jesus said were easy to love.

I have seen Facebook posts and articles regarding the homosexual agenda, the middle east crisis, and our rival political party and their "idiotic candidates" to name a few. We comment on others’ posts and get into lengthy debates about who is right and wrong in this world. We blaspheme those people whose values and beliefs don't line up with ours. And, yes, I have been found guilty of this as well. But…

For the sake and the advancement of the Kingdom of God, can you and I stop this?
Can we learn to love?
Can we begin acting towards acceptance and unity with others?

First of all, let’s begin by showing love to believers from all backgrounds. I think it hardly matters, if at all, which denomination you and I come from or what our “end times” theology states? We are all brothers and sisters. We are the church. We preach that Christ came, died, and resurrected. He is establishing His Kingdom here— and now. Let’s go back to the basics. Let’s start by embracing others in the freedom that we have. Christ has made us all unique. Let’s celebrate that! It’s Beautiful!

Second, let’s learn how to truly show God’s love to those who are in the world and have not yet been introduced to their heavenly Father. There are a lot of lonely, hurting people around us: in our workplaces, schools, and communities. They are screaming out for someone to love them, and they don't know that God loves them. Could you and I possibly be the ones who will break the silence and BE the love of Christ to that individual? Is God waiting on you and me to make a move of love towards someone so that He can break through and bring revelation in their hearts? 

We spend a lot of time posting and commenting on what we are against. I propose that we do something different. Most people don't need to be reminded about what sin is and how they are “missing the mark.” They already know this. Let’s blow their minds and show them how much they are accepted, as they are. Let’s take a step in that direction. Isn’t that what Christ did for us? He didn't tell us what to do in order to be accepted. And neither did He tell us what sinful habits to drop in order to be loved by him. He found us in our messy state and loved us. Thats it. And it is that simple.

And that love, if I am honest, has completely transformed my life. Can we not all say the same?

Before we post on Facebook, lets filter our thoughts through the lens of this thought: “Is there someone on my Facebook friend list who might see what I wrote or an article I tagged and be pushed away from God? 

If only one person has the potential to see your agenda as hatred of any kind, then I propose that you just don't post. The time is now for the church to rise up and be the hands and feet of Christ…to show love when it seems nonexistent. Lets embrace others with open arms, regardless of their background.