Ephesians 5:11
Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.
Romans 12:10
Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.
John 13:34
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
As this series is almost coming to an end I want to discuss our lives as Christians. The Christian community does not always have the best reputation with the world, and I don't mean in a "He was persecuted therefore we are persecuted kind of way". What I mean is that there are a lot of people claiming to be Christians and love Christ while also spreading hate, being intolerant, and not acting in the way the Jesus did at all. Now I know that not every person who is Christian is this way, and the hateful Christians do not speak for us. Well they do, if we are not speaking up and doing anything. When the voice of hate is the only one you hear, it's pretty hard to believe that there is love.
We are people who are called to love, we are called to spread the message of truth and share Jesus with people. As people of God we are called to live a life the resembles Christ in every way. We are called to love people and speak up for those without a voice. Somewhere along the line we have adopted the every man for them self idea and as long as we are doing well, everything is good. No, while we are not anyone's savior we are their way to the savior. It's hard to move forward when our brother or sister is stuck in a ditch. It's hard to overlook those who are hurting, or at least it should be. There are many people who are hurting and have been scarred by the church, and religious people who are full of hate and intolerance. As the world has changed this past year and sen so much tragedy and witnessed so much pain, now is the time to spread love. Life is loving people beyond what we see or agree with. I have seen people who call themselves Christians attack people of the LGBTQ+ community countless times. I can tell you right now that attacking someone into repentance and believing in Christ will never work I have seen racism in the name of Jesus. I have seen so many things take place that should not, done by people who call themselves Christians. We should not be living in a world where a church kicks someone out because they are gay. We should not be living in a world where pastors are more concerned with how someone is dressed for service or whether they have tattoos as opposed to their soul. We should not live in a world where religion and manmade rules takes the place of salvation and relationship. We are called to build a church and that means creating disciples, now I don't know if you noticed but the only one running with Jesus that was perfect was Jesus Himself. It is not our job to judge people it is our job to love them and lead them to Christ and He will do the rest. As we imitate the life of Christ we must learn to love like He does. We must learn to be compassionate like He is. We must learn to love people beyond their faults or whether or not we agree with their lifestyle or the choices they have made. One thing I know to be true is that Jesus was not intolerant. He was not arrogant, He did not walk around with a chip on His shoulder. Jesus is full of love and compassion and so are we. When Jesus came to save the world He did not ask every person what their sin was and decide whether or not they could be forgiven or not, but He forgave them all. He did not ignore the sin or overlook it, He gave them a way out.
What I am getting at here is, are we are people of God, the body of Christ living a life that will rebuttal what the world believes a Christian is or should be. Are we living a life full of love for His people, are we speaking up and stepping up when we see our neighbor has been wronged. Are we loving people unconditionally, or are we basing how we love someone on how great or small their sin is? People have told us that life is hard and life as a Christian person is harder but can we use what we have to make life a bit easier for our brother and sister? Can we use what God has given us to love the person who feels like they cannot be loved? Can we live a life that will go and pick the people up that have fallen. Can we live a life that lets God's people (that's everyone) know that we are there for them. Life is about being selfless, it's not a race to see how many people you can judge in a day or look down upon to prove you are better.
All this to say, let's be a people that speak against hate with love. Let's be a people that will love every person whether we agree with their lifestyle or not. Also let's be a people that will stand up and show the world that their idea of Christianity is flawed. Let's do this by living like Christ, obeying His commands and loving people the way He loves them.
Response/Prayer Time
Take the time to respond to what we discussed today. Think about where you fit into this and pray for the body of Christ. Pray for the people who are hurting and take the time to commit yourself to living like Christ, and loving His people unconditionally.
I love you and I hope you have an amazing day or evening! Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow or Day 356!
