Awhile back, my parents and I went to an ice sculpting festival. Streets were crowded, shops lined the street, and many were selling their goods. The ice sculptures were fantastic! As an artist who has dabbled with plaster sculpture it was amazing to me the finesse it took to sculpt in ice and snow. It was a wonderful day with my family with many great things to see.
One thing happened back then that I’ve remembered for quite some years. There were four or five people on the sidewalk and they were handling out pamphlets while another was yelling at the top of his lungs,
“You’re going to hell! Into eternal damnation!”
You know, like the typical hellfire and brimstone teachers. And while the only way to go to Heaven is through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ (John 3:16), I don’t agree with the way he went about it.
As I read deeper into the Bible the more and more I read about God’s character. One thing in particular that stands out is His love for us. Verse after verse talks about God’s love and sacrifice for us.
Here are just a few verses of God’s love –
“Whoever does not love, does not know God because God is love.” (1 John 4:8 NIV)
“…God is love. Whoever lives in love, lives in God, and God in him.” (1 John 4:16 NIV)
“Dear friends, let us love on another, for love comes from God.” (1 John 4:7 NIV)
“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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:16 NIV)
A devotion I read said this, “Perfect love…drives away fear that a person may have. It banishes fear from the relationship.” Love is not doing something out of fear. Yelling into a crowded street about their upcoming doom and destruction isn’t showing perfect love because perfect love drives away fear. True love, God’s love, is the absence of fear. That is why I don’t agree with the way this person went about sharing the gospel. We have enough fear of people, places, things (think of all the phobias that exists), and even life itself! God is different. God is love. God wants the best for all people. He sacrificed His Son for you… and you… and you… and me!
Each one of us needs to accept this love from God. God doesn’t force His love upon us but He wants every single person to know His love —
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9 NIV)
Keep in mind this love isn’t transferrable from a parent or spouse; It’s like a subscription in a way. We can’t use someone else’s login to cheat our way into Heaven. At the end of life God will ask you if you accepted His love. There’s no cheat, code, or anything else that will help then.
God loved us first. He sent His Son, Jesus, into the world to show the love to every person in the way He lived His life. He talked with the downtrodden, those who were considered the ‘undesirables’ of the time, and the ones who were hated. The list of people back then and the list of people today have many similarities including, but not limited to: the poor, prostitutes, people with extreme illnesses, people of different ethnicities and religion, etc. We have a job as Christians to emulate Christ, therefore, we need to love all those around us. We may not always agree with a person’s thinking, but we can show love to them by talking to them, by helping them, and reaching out the ones the world has forgotten. As the song “They’ll Know We Are Christians” by Peter Scholtes1 says:
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord…
And we pray that all unity will one day be restored.
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love,
Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.
How will you show love to a world that is so desperate in need of it? Please share your examples below because I would love to learn more!
Keeping the perspective,
Lauren
1Scholtes, Peter. “They’ll Know We Are Christians” 1966, F.E.L. Publications, assigned to The Lorenz Corp., 1991
You. Are. Beautiful. 