Love One Another...

Recently I was impressed with this thought again,

when a friend asked me just what the purpose

of the Church is, and why there seems to be

so much chaos and confusion surrounding

the Body of Christ.

I thought of Jesus' oft repeated words,

echoed in the letters His disciples wrote

and are recorded in the epistles:

LOVE...

"The world will know you are my

disciples when you love each other."

And I thought of all the hurt and confusion

I have personally known at the hand of

people who profess to know Him,

and I realized that LOVE is often

not understood and therefore not given.

I pondered further...

LOVE

requires me to graciously let 

others have opinions and beliefs,

even if they contradict with the Word.

If I have warned, and admonished in love,

then I am free to let others choose as they will.

LOVE 

doesn't mean I can necessarily

have bosom buddy fellowship with another

if they persist in their foolish choices that

do not line up with the Gospel,

but LOVE does mean that I get to

bless them in ways that I can.

I think that God can work when

 LOVE

 is present.

Love extends grace to all,

and speaks the truth simply,

kindly, but with conviction from the Holy Spirit.

LOVE

means that I lay down my life

for my brothers and sisters.

It means that I extend the hand of

kindness to lift up someone who has fallen.

I don't need to scold them.

The Holy Spirit is capable of convicting them,

and my job is to reach out and lift them up.

(of course, they have to want to get up

in order for positive results to happen).

LOVE

does not speak ill of others

I marvel often at how Jesus 

went through

His days and taught, blessed 

and healed people

but He never spoke ill of them.

You don't hear Him scorning Nicodemus

to His disciples because he cared so much about

his reputation and his standing 

with 'his church'

that he stole thro the shadows

one night to meet with Jesus...

nor do we hear of Jesus speaking ill of

Judas who betrayed Him,

or of Peter who denied Him.

We don't hear of Him rolling His eyes

and muttering to the disciples that

yet another crowd of simpletons

came to hear Him, and they didn't even

think far enough to bring food with them!

I am challenged as I ponder this.

Oh to be like Jesus!

To have His likeness stamped deeply

where satan's has been in my life!

"Let us love one another,

for love is of God."

Truly this is the learning experience

of a lifetime!