I was thinking about something in church (yes, it was during the sermon). I read blogs from some of the rest of you, and you have pointed out that we are to love and accept people no matter their backgrounds, their spiritual states, their lifestyles, or their opinions. I totally agree with all of this. We are to love people no matter what, but we are not to love their sin. It's a difficult line to walk sometimes.
Well, then I had another thought. In my little church in Loveland, Colorado there are no homosexuals, no prostitutes, no atheists, no promiscuous people, no liberals. There are mainly very conservative, God-loving and God-serving individuals. Does that mean we wouldn't welcome other people? I don't think so and I hope it doesn't mean that. But the main idea I'm trying to get to is that maybe God produces the love in us for the ministry we are in. I can say I love all those other people, but I can't really prove it at this point.
I used to hear that when a Christian is put into a situation where he will be tortured or killed for his faith, God will provide the courage and the grace to allow a person to embrace the situation for the Lord. The Holy Spirit will enable a Christian to get through to the end.
So why wouldn't the Holy Spirit also enable us to love the way we should--love the people we should--be the witnesses we should--when those things are needed? In the Bible Peter wasn't the testimony he should have been when he denied Christ three times, but later in His life, he was the Christian he had to be when he was crucified upside down on a cross for his faith--God enabled him to do what had to be done.
May God make us able to be the Christians we should be in the circumstances He gives us.
What do you think about this?
4 comments:
I think that makes sense and I also think it is definitely true because I know that there is no way I can love people the way I should on my own.
I think sometimes though we get comfortable and forget to extend ourselves. Ok, I do. I can only speak for myself. That's where all this learnin I've been doing takes me. It has lifted my eyes from my lap a little bit.
Sometimes a person doesn't know the depth of the love one can have for someone until that someone comes into his/her life. I never knew how much I could love Downs' Syndrome people until I met Gaylen. (I posted about him on my blog some time back). Now I get almost gleeful when I see one and have to use restraint to not embarrass myself and others by buddying up to them. :)
I agree with what you said.
Wish I had a more thought provoking comment then this, but...agreed.
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