Love is at the heart of not only the Gospel, but the Bible. Everything the Lord has done has been out of love, and it’s of upmost importance to live a life of loving God and others.
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” – Matthew 22:36-40. God not only wants us to, but commands us to love each other. We are called to love not only God Almighty, but our neighbors, and those we deem to be our enemies.
“Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” – 1 John 4:11. We are the Church, and the world needs to see the Church of Christ in a good light. The world needs to see the love and forgiveness of Jesus through our actions and the way that we love others; and we are still called to love even when we are hated. “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” – Matthew 5:40. If you’re faithful, the world will hate you because of Jesus, but if you’re a jerk, the world will hate Jesus because of you. It is our job to bring the love of Christ to people, even if that means we are despised. If we follow this commandment to truly love others, we will desire to bring those who are broken and weary into the loving arms of our Heavenly Father and not desire to push them away or justify ourselves based on their sin. At the end of the day, we are called to LOVE.
“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” – 1 Corinthians 13:1-3. LOVE IS EVERYTHING! How can we expect people to come to Christ if they feel judged or hated? The church is a house for the broken, not a place where people who believe they are self-righteous judge others. We need to understand that God wants everyone to be a part of the Kingdom, and that we are all broken and in need of God’s grace and mercy. We are ALL sinners.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 6:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” – Romans 3:23. Jesus died on the cross for every single person in this world, and everyone has a place at the table, should they choose to accept it. We cannot exclude anyone from God’s salvation for all mankind. We are called to love, not to judge. We are all broken people and we don’t have a right to judge those who do not know Christ. Jesus sternly warns us against judging others.
“For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” – Matthew 7:2-5
If you know that an unbeliever is living in sin, it is not your role to convict them of it; that’s the Holy Spirit’s job; you are called to love them. We struggle with this so much as a Christian community, myself included. But we need to remember that we are all sinners in need of God’s grace. No one is more worthy of God’s love and grace than anyone else. Because at the end of the day, none of us are justified by our actions. “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God” – Ephesians 2:8.
None of us are worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven, but by God’s grace and mercy we have been saved by our faith and not our actions, so none of us are more worthy of God’s love and grace than anyone else. Jesus dined with sinners and tax collectors, He came for both the sinner and the God loving person.
God does not call us to judge, He calls us to love with open arms. We need to not only tell people, but show them the freedom and love that comes from having a relationship with the Lord; not preach to them about judgement and wrath. I’m not saying that there won’t be judgement, but we are not judges; we have no place in judging others. Yes, we have a role in calling fellow Christians to a higher standard out of love, but we have no place in judgement and condemnation; that is the Lord’s job. Our job is simply this; to love the Lord with all our hearts, souls, and minds and to love our neighbor as ourselves.
So what does it mean to love others? Love is not just loving with our words, but loving with our actions. “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.” – 1 John 3:16. We are called to LAY DOWN OUR LIVES FOR OTHERS. Jesus calls us to take practical action and to do something about the darkness in our world for our neighbor. “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” – Matthew 5:16. We need to go into the darkest places and to bring the love and care of Christ there. We need to provide practically for those around us. Before preaching His Gospel, Jesus would often heal people, meet a physical need, and/or meet people where they were at. Some people don’t want to know about Jesus until they know that you care, and actions speak a heck of a lot louder than words. As Christians, we are supposed to be the light of the world; the light in the darkness. So let’s start loving others like Christ did; through words AND actions.
Thank you for this, Colton. It is a word full of grace and truth that we all need to take to heart. I especially love this: “We need not only to tell people, but show them the freedom and love that comes from having a relationship with the Lord.” Keep preaching with your words and actions, man of God!
So call to recall the conversations had about this and then to read it almost two months later. Beautiful heart to share truth and encourage believers to a higher standard through this! We won’t always love perfectly, but by God’s grace we can be refined and grow to be more like Him in every way, speaking and acting each day in sacrificial love.
What a great reminder… God has freed us of all reasons to judge others! All we have to do is LOVE, and be ready to give a reason for our hope when asked (because He first loved us). Thanks for sharing.