Letters from the Beloved: Love, Love, Love – Part 2
We are focusing on love for a couple of blog posts because John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, focuses on it so much.
1 John 4:20-21 [NKJV] 20 If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God [must] love his brother also.
Do you feel, like me, that there seems to be an awful lot of hate in the world? In the USA we’ve had many mass murders that are based on hate of an entire group, race or religion. It happens around the world as well. The human race seems to be unable to disagree without spewing hatred.
Proverbs 31:26 And on her tongue is the law of kindness.
But that is the world. Satan’s world. We can hardly expect anything different than hate in a world led be the top hater of the human race (Satan). What about the body of Christ?
It is not for me to judge the hearts of my brethren. That is, when I hear meanness and see unforgiveness, I cannot say it comes from hatred. But I can point out that John, the beloved, has some pretty strong words about it.
When sermons and articles include name-calling, mocking and belittling of politicians and their followers, I don’t know if it is hate, but it certainly doesn’t come across as love.
Sadly, I’ve had more than one non-believing relative tell me that they don’t think much of Christianity or Christ Jesus because of what they see and hear out of those who claim to be followers of Jesus. Ouch.
To be clear, they are not faulting me (as one who calls myself a Christian) for sticking with the 10 commandments or for keeping the Sabbath or because I am anti-abortion or because I have asked that they not take God’s name in vain in front of me. No, they actually respect me for that.
Their disgust for those who call themselves Christians has everything to do with divorced parents who don’t pay child support and leave their own children to struggle, ministers who molest children or commit adultery and get a pass to continue leading a church (just in another city or state), with those whose politics include hateful words, and with those whose self-righteousness shows no compassion on children at the border or those who struggle with addiction.
We are Jesus’ representatives on earth. If we are not known for loving PEOPLE in word and deed, it doesn’t matter how much we love God.
Sweet sisters, I know you are loving. I am pained that there are not enough Christians out there whose primary focus is showing love by caring for others and speaking with kindness. [See Matthew 25:31-46 and Proverbs 31:26]
We have to work harder and be more public about it. We must ask God to help us always speak kindness, letting it be the law to us. We must show love in giving to and visiting the needly.
It isn’t fair to be judged by association. Our response to that must be to redouble our efforts to show the love that we have for God BY the love we show to our fellow man. Inside the church and without.
We cannot be with God and Jesus in heaven right now. We love them from afar in that sense, though they are with us in mind, heart and spirit, IF we show love to others.
I urge us all, then, to take on a purer version of the Stephen Still song, “If can’t be with the One you love, honey, love the one you’re with” and love the ones we are with on this planet. Every one of them.
They are sinners, every one of them – just like us. They are also the beloved children of God who just don’t know Him as well as we do (or at all) right now.
Love them anyway. How else will they believe that we love God?
I welcome your comments and questions. You can write me at Nancy@DynamicChristianMinistries.org