When I was growing up, my family attended the Presbyterian Church, and one of my favorite aspects of Church was the singing. A song that I liked particularly as a child was And theyll know we are Christians by our love. It was easy to memorize as a child, and even now I often find myself humming it under my breath. The lyrics are: We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord And we pray that all unity may one day be restored And theyll know we are Christians by our love, by our love They will know we are Christians by our love We will work with each other, we will work side by side We will work with each other, we will work side by side And well guard each ones dignity and save each ones pride And theyll know we are Christians by our love, by our love They will know we are Christians by our love By our love, by our love And theyll know we are Christians by our love, by our love They will know we are Christians by our love We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand And together well spread the news that God is in our land And theyll know we are Christians by our love, by our love They will know we are Christians by our love By our love, by our love And theyll know we are Christians by our love, by our love I wish I could say that in our modern American society it was easy to spot a Christian by their love. That you could watch someone, point a finger at them and say See how they are behaving, see how they are helping that person, see how they donate their time, they must be a Christian! In America, its just not always so. Oh, dont get me wrong, there are wonderful Christians out there who are helping the homeless, the battered, the needy, who visit prisons and staff food banks. But there are many more who call themselves Christians who arent interested in showing the world love and mercy, theyd far rather be on the Judgement seat. They seem to forget that judgement, in the sense of condemning another persons soul, belongs to God alone, it is He who will decide who is saved, and who is not. They seem to forget our job as Christians is not to condemn, but to love. But Beth, you say, the Bible is clear there are sins out there, and we should point those sins out....at whatever cost. Read your Bible, Beth, tell me there arent sins that God hates. News flash, friends...God hates all sin. He hates pride, and unjust anger. He hates haughtiness, and He hates it when we push people further away from Him. He hates greed and selfishness, He hates pride and gossip. We all have sins we look down upon with others because...whew, at least were not committing *those* sins. But we do, my friends, commit plenty of our own...especially if we let the spirit of self-righteousness get a grasp on us. You see, when we loudly and proudly tell the world they are sinners and that theyre going to Hell...its evident to the world we are not doing this out of love. Some modern day Americans who say they are Christians are almost delighted to tell someone what their shortcomings are, how damned they are...its told with an almost gleeful zest. There are many who act as if they want to light the bonfires themselves...instead of weeping and praying over those who might suffer from said fires. When we see our friends, family, co-workers and acquaintances who dont know Jesus as the only way to God, we should not rush to pass condemnation (for that belongs to God alone) but rather we should be heartsick at knowing what they are missing. We should deeply long for them to have the same saving relationship with Christ as we do, and our love and concern for that persons eternal salvation should be where all our interactions with that person start. We should share our faith in gentleness and love. For they too, are made in the image of God. The epistle of 1 Peter addresses this very subject: But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. (1 Peter, 3:15) Paul addresses it in 2 Timothy: 2 Timothy 2:24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be GENTLE unto all men, apt to teach, patient. If we dont approach others from an aspect of love, of gentleness, but instead as a battering ram of judgment, we are not helping to bring people to Christ, but rather to push them away from Him. How many of us ever wanted to do what school yard bully told us to do, how many of us respect the stance of someone who is telling us all that is wrong with us? How much more apt are we to listen to someone who knows we care about them, that we love them? How much more will they want to listen to us if they see us walking in the way of Christ, and attempting to live in holiness ourselves. We get so fixated on other peoples sins, we forget to worry about our own first. Jesus taught us, saying: Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. (Matthew 7:1-5) Now, I know this is a favorite verse of non-Christians, who like to yell out, See, you cant judge me! But thats not what this verse is talking about. Christians, as expressed in several parts of the Bible have the duty to expose sin and to exhort against it. But it must be done in a spirit of love, not in self righteous judgement, or worse, hypocritical self-righteous judgement. So yes Christians, we can discern if someone else is living in a life of sin, but then we are first to use that discernment to make sure we are not doing that same thing. We are not to look at someone elses sin so that we can feel better about ourselves, or to put them down. We must make sure we are removing the log from our own eye, before we can gently, and in love, talk about sin to anyone else. In the verse above it also says that by the standard we judge others, so we will be judged. Now, I dont know about you, maybe you live a far better life than I do, but I know I am a sinner, and that I need Gods grace and mercy. There is no way I am anywhere near good enough to even approach the gates of Heaven, I need the shed blood of Christ to cover me. So if I want Gods grace and mercy, I better be willing to give that to others as best I can. I dont want to be harshly judged by God, so I better not harshly judge anyone else. Further verses also instruct that if I want forgiveness, I must forgive, and that the merciful shall receive mercy. Im in trouble without mercy, grace and forgiveness. I am lost without any hope if Christ does not extend those to me. And because He does, and because He has given me grace to live daily, mercy and forgiveness for my sins, I want to show others that same latitude. And if Christ tells us that it is by our love we shall be known, then let me ever endeavor that love will be my trademark. I want to be so branded with the Saviors mark, His love, that it is undeniable whom I serve and belong to. I may stumble....I may fall, but my Shepherd picks me up. And though I am a wayward little sheep, He dusts me off, puts me in His flock, and says, This one is mine. I know her and claim her, she is marked with my love. -Beth Haynes Butler By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. John 13:35 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 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. – 1 John 4:9-11 We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, I love God, yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. – 1 John 4:19-20 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother. - 1 John 3:10 Jesus replied: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. – Matthew 22:37-39 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. . .And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. - excerpts from 1 Corinthians 13:4-13
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 23:31:06 +0000
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