Let Us Be Known for Our Love
Last week I wrote about how we as Christians can embrace Santa Claus. The impetus of the post was the desire for us Christians to be known more for the things we embrace instead of those things we are against. Jesus was able to walk this earth as a friend to sinners dining with prostitutes and tax collectors. As we follow Jesus, I believe we can find a way to live that non-Christians would want to hang out with us, too.
Let us be known for our love as God is known for His. God so loved the world! He made it because of love. He sent His Son because of love. He engages the world today because He still loves the world.
Let’s stop focusing on all the sin going on in the world. Yes, there is evil, but we are to overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21). Let us make our focus be the good in the world. Where are the areas that man has grabbed hold of the heart of God? Let’s praise and bless these things instead of showing people where they are wrong.
The Year of Love
Let’s make a resolution that this year will be a year of love. Let’s think about God’s love for us and for the world. Let’s embody that love and think about how to represent it to our world. May our words be seasoned with love – encouraging, strengthening, and comforting people in every interaction. May our love easily flow to friends, family, believers, and non-believers.
As God treats you, let that be a model for how you treat others. When did He begin loving you? When you were nice to Him in return? No! He has an unfailing, unrelenting love to you. How can we love others that same way?
Knowing that God is always love, let’s view all of life in relation to that love. Let’s interpret everything that happens this year in context with God’s love – not as God’s judgement. Whether it be personal crisis or national tragedies, how can God’s love be manifest in it? God is always present, so where do we see Him working? May our conversations about these topics drip with the love of God.
May we no longer be known for what we are against and be known for what we promote. We have a message of hope and love that cannot be heard by our outcry of what we don’t like. Love is our challenge and our mandate. God is love, and we are to be a people of love. Let the year of love begin!
“it’s obvious how much he loves me” – Song of Solomon 2:4