Many issues arise today which seem to be controversial. When these issues arise, we usually take a side. Many fringe Christians act in hate and in spite. These are the ones most often cited by the media of course! It should be clear that God never called us to mock, bash or harm others!
There is great disparity, however, when it comes to defining love and how we should act when these issues arise. Our best course is to look carefully at Jesus as our example of love! Below are just a few ways that Jesus loved us:
1. HE GAVE!
God loved the world so much that He GAVE us Jesus to die in our place. Jesus said He willingly GAVE His life on our behalf - no one took it from Him by force! Wherever Jesus went, He met the needs of people! He healed them, fed them, set them free and comforted them!
Do we love the world enough to give?
2. HE TAUGHT!
Many churches and organizations give - but stop there. If we send people on their way after meeting only their temporal needs, we are selling them short! Jesus also TAUGHT them eternal truths that would change the world forever! If we feed and clothe people only, we are not meeting their greatest need - to be reconciled to God!
Do we love the world enough to teach them the things of God?
3. HE WAS HONEST!
Jesus did not "sugar coat" the truth to make it acceptable to the culture of His time! He taught the hard truths as well as the sweet truths! He was willing to be unpopular and was hated by many for what He taught. The Bible teaches that "faithful are the wounds of a friend." Jesus truly loved the world by telling the truth! Thank God for friends who tell us the truth - not just what we want to hear!
Do we love the world enough to tell them the truth?
4. HE SUBMITTED!
Though He was the Son of God, He submitted fully to the authority of God the Father while He walked on earth! He said that He only did what He saw the Father doing and only said what he heard from the Father!
It seems obvious. But as followers of Christ, we can love the world best if we "FOLLOW!" The more we submit to the will of God, the more we seek to find God's ways and what God thinks, and then obey it, the greater benefit we will be to the world!
When we allow our own opinions to cloud God's, it may seem right but it cannot produce the fruit of God's Holy Spirit. We all have many preconceived ideas which must be laid at the feet of Jesus! He designed this universe and knows best how to run it!
Can you imagine the power that could be unleashed in the world if we walked as Jesus walked - complete surrender and obedience to the will of the Father?
Do we love the world enough to submit to God and obey Him?
5. HE DIED!
Ultimately Jesus loved us by suffering and dying for us!
For most of us that will not involve becoming a martyr for Christ. But we can suffer and die while we are still alive - we can die to self! The more we allow God to get ahold of us and change us, the more we can really show Him to the lost dying world! When we allow "self" to rule - however seemingly great that self might be - we push Jesus to the background and hide Him from the world!
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Romans 12:1 (emphasis added)
Do we love the people in the world enough to suffer and die for them?
If we want to truly love, we will ALL have to ask God to demolish our preconceived ideas of what love is and allow Him to impart His own perfect understanding of what it means to love!
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO KNOW GOD PERSONALLY - FOLLOW THIS LINK...
THE 4 SPIRITUAL LAWS
IF YOU ALREADY ACCEPTED JESUS AS YOUR LORD AND SAVIOR - GO HERE...
TEN BASIC STEPS TO CHRISTIAN MATURITY
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