Be the Expression of His Love

On Valentine's Day, everyone is talking about love, but what does real love look like?

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16 NIV)

Love is sacrifice. Love is compassion. Love is mercy. The Lord Jesus was and is the embodiment of love, and the Bible tells us in 1 John 4 that God is love. When Jesus came to this earth, His purpose was not to condemn anyone, but to save all of us.

...God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:19 NKJV)

God's aim was not to punish everyone. He sent the Lord Jesus to take the penalty of sin for our sakes, so we could be brought back into fellowship with Him, and we could live in His light again. We, being born of God, are to show the same love to those in our world.

Especially in today's political climate, we see many, who call themselves Christians, speaking and acting hatefully towards anyone they don't agree with. If someone is sinning, they call them names and say, "You're gonna burn in Hell!" That is not love. Paul tells us in Ephesians 4 to speak the truth with love. We do not have to agree with the actions of all, but we certainly should not bring hate into the conversation. How will they ever know the love of Christ if all we do is act bitterly towards them?

The Bible says in Romans 2:4 that it is the goodness of God that brings men to repentance. When people see the love, kindness, and compassion of the Lord, they are drawn in. How can someone see compassion when they're being told that they're disgusting and stupid? That's not how that works. Those sorts of attitudes push people away from the Lord, rather than drawing them in.

I had an escalated call at work one day, and the man I spoke to was so nasty. Every single agent he mentioned, he had something terrible to say. Finally, he said that he would call the most recent agent a curse word, but "he's a Christian." He even ended the call with, "God bless you." I was stunned. It brought me to tears. I prayed for the man after the call, because it was clear that the love of Christ was not functioning in and through him. No one walking in love could even think such things about others. I thought about how many people he may have encountered, who were driven away from Jesus, simply by his words and actions. It's things like this that have caused many to leave the faith and to follow after the things of the world, because they don't see Christians living out the Word they preach.

Let us be the Jesus that our world needs. When you see someone who is sinning, or who even hatefully speaks about Christ and the Church, respond in love. Tell them that Jesus gave His life for them, because they are valuable and they matter. They may not accept what you have to say, but don't let someone else's bad attitude cause you to stop acting the right way. They do not know, neither do they understand; the god of this world (Satan) has blinded their minds. Pray for their salvation, and let the liquid love of Christ flow through you today and every day. God bless you.