I have been challenged in my heart of late to practice love. To love meaning to do good for others no matter who they are, or what they have done, or may do, or are doing. To give my best to them. To hope the best for them. Not simply to do no harm or to think no ill of them, for that is what love can so easily come to mean. To bless everyone I meet by the way I think of them, talk to them, and what I am able to do for them. I am challenged to truly love as God loves. To love and not condmen even every one of us has faults worthy of condeming.
It seems to me like this is the kind of love demonstrated by Jesus, the visible image of the invisible God. He loved people, he did not condone all their actions but neither is he condemning to them, yet somehow so many of these people saw their need to change. Why do christians feel as though we need to be the group that condemns and points out the worse in everyone and everything. Why wouyld anyone want to attend a church like that, or what is more, serve a God that is like that. I do not think our God is like that. He is loving without condmening. When face to face with God we all see not with our eyes but with our hearts where we need healing and then our God transforms us into his image.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 License.
Talk to me, Think with me
Who I Am
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 License.
3 comments:
these are the people that are blessings from God...
we come across them regularly - to challenge us to be more like Him and not the standard the world has created
This is the key to the Master's heart for God is Love. If only we could achieve the excellence we desire to have. Only through the power of God and seeking His Spirit to work in us daily can we fully run such a race. ALLSAWBILL
I think this is the type of love that really changes people and really transforms people because it so contrary to their image of a Christian and yet so Christlike, it seems strange that a Christ follower could love in any other way. I really believe that people are starving for love and it's very hard to find genuine, uninhibited, Christlike love, even (and maybe especially) within a Christian context. I think it can be hard for Christians to love without expecting a certain behaviour conformity but Christ is so free in his love and so willing to meet people exactly at the place where they are. So often, it is my recognition of his love and grace when I least deserve it that makes me see in myself the change that needs to happen and leads me to action. What a challenge for each of us as we face so many different people in our life to not just show love to those that are easy to love or who are in our sphere but to, as you said, love "no matter who they are, or what they have done, or may do, or are doing." Thanks for that.
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