The Greatest of These is Love
"We're all sinners. Everybody you meet all over the world is a sinner."
Billy Graham
Billy Graham
Some friends and I went to the movies
on Saturday to see God's not Dead 2 (which I highly recommend if you
haven't seen it yet! I've seen it twice and both times it was AMAZING. But I
digress). While we were standing outside the theater after, a man overheard us
talking about going to church. He asked us where we went and we all told him
our churches, and then he said something that will stick with me forever. He
said, "I've had bad experiences in the church. They're so quick to
throw everyone under the bus in judgment, even their own." My heart
just about shattered...
I think the worst part is that was not the first time I heard someone say that.
My first thoughts were, "Have I ever been that person? Have I ever been so caught up in MY righteousness that it became distasteful in a non-believer's eyes? What is my image portraying about the image of Christ?" My heart broke more and more as I pondered that man's statement. Verses about love flashed in my head 1 Corinthians 13 , 1 Peter 4:8 , Mark 12:31, etc. Yet, this man's impression of church is one of judgment and self-righteousness.
Over the next two days there
are some things that God really pointed out to me:
When judging is trumping your act of loving there is something terribly wrong.
"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. " 1 Peter 4:8.
God is the supreme Judge, the one who decides where we spend our eternity, for all of us. Not us. We are here to help people desire Christ's kingdom, because God gave us that amazing job.
God is the supreme Judge, the one who decides where we spend our eternity, for all of us. Not us. We are here to help people desire Christ's kingdom, because God gave us that amazing job.
We are to make the most of every opportunity.
"Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." Colossians 4:5-6.
We should seek them as an opportunity to share Christ's love that He so generously lavished upon us.
We should seek them as an opportunity to share Christ's love that He so generously lavished upon us.
Though we may see them us undeserving of our love, we need to face the reality that we are underserving of His.
"Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:7-8.
We are all sinners. To us murder is worse than lying to our parents, however, to God sin is sin. And as Propaganda says, "At the foot of the cross, the ground is equally level".
We are to help others righteously fear God, not fear the church.
"The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death." Proverbs 14:27.
Fearing the church doesn't bring them to heaven, but fearing our Savior does.
We are to bring people in and bring people Home.
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20.
This is a COMMAND from God. And if we fear the Lord the way we should, we should want to do all we can to bring as many people to Him!
I'm praying that this blog not only opens my eyes to the lost and broken world, but that it also opens yours. Pray intensely for the lost and wandering. Bring them in, comfort them, and let them see Christ's love so they, too, can spend eternity in paradise.
As my favorite quote says, "The non-Christian world reads Christians, not the Bible"
As my favorite quote says, "The non-Christian world reads Christians, not the Bible"
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