I cannot always explain some of the things I write and say. It seems that God just puts certain things in my mind and heart and I try to share it with others to encourage them. That is what I want to do in these thoughts that I have written down. So here we go.
Many years ago there was a Christian “campfire” song, I guess you could say, that was sung in churches and other places. Some of the words were “they will know we are Christians by our love, by our love, they will know we are Christians by our love.” Jesus said this very thing in John 13:34-35. As Jesus is teaching His disciples (followers) He tells them, “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
Simple words, yet not always easy to live out. Love is not just what we do; it also includes the things we say. We focus much on what Jesus did and we
should. Jesus loved the unlovely, ate with those who society would consider “low lifes”, and chose to impact His world by His actions. He was the ultimate Servant. But we cannot overlook His teachings either. We cannot have one without the other.
Loving God seems easy, but loving our neighbors, not so much, yet we are commanded to do so by Jesus (Matthew 22:34-40). They both go hand in hand. And what does this love look like? In 1 Corinthians 13 Paul gave us some descriptive words about love – it is patient with others, it is kind, love is not proud or rude, selfish, and it keeps no record of wrongs done to it. These are just some of the words written that describe what love is.
We know love is also seen in our actions. John, one of Jesus’ closest followers, wrote the following in one of his books, “We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion – how can God’s love be
in that person?”
Though directed towards our treatment of other Christians, Jesus Himself showed compassion to all people. He did not condone their lifestyles, but He reached out to them because He alone has the power to change lives.
Loving others is a challenge. Remember the song mentioned at the beginning of this. It seems today in churches across our land that instead of people knowing we are Christians by our love, we as believers are known more for other things. In other words, we at times by what we say and do (myself included) instead of being known by our love, are known by our gossip, slander, bitterness, unkindness, arguing, ____________. Many words could be put in the blank, could they not?
The following words are things that happen at different churches all over the world. This is not an indictment on every church nor every Christian. It would be wrong to say that. It is an observation that I have made over many years as a Christian and through interaction with others.
For example, we can go to church and see somebody and smile and talk graciously to them, then trash that same person to someone else (even at church). We disagree with somebody and allow it to destroy a relationship instead of being willing to agree to disagree. We judge others because someone does not see eye to eye with us. We question motives; we pick and choose who we want to be kind to. People sit in meetings in church and listen to all the discussion, and then go outside of church and huddle up with a select few and put down what they have just heard talked about or put down the person who brought something up. We even judge fellow Christians because of who they “associate” with. Remember, Jesus interacted with the “not so lovely or popular”
Himself.
I have been guilty of this. Living the Christian life is definitely a huge challenge but with God’s help it is possible to do – not perfectly, because we are all sinners, but we can more and more model the life of Jesus Christ as we learn about Him and with God’s Spirit helping us, apply it to our lives. This is a challenge that I must take upon myself.
There is a place for seeking counsel from others when we are trying to know what to do about a situation, but we need to be careful when we do that. I guess
what I am trying to say is let’s all work together to live out the commands of Jesus. Let’s love God and grow in our understanding of Him and at the same
time, live before others by our words and actions the Christian faith that we claim.
Scott
