Thursday, July 2, 2015

Love Is Not Enough


What if you are that person that someone has been waiting on?
That someone is anyone and everyone you come in contact with. Let’s say that someone has been struggling with Christianity. They have a bad taste in their mouth from what they have been given. They are familiar with the message of Christ, yet have seen very little of it in people. They are at a pivotal point and have decided that this day they are going to come to you, knowing that you are a Christian. You are now that person.
They are not seeking advice. They are searching for Christ in you. They have had enough advice pounded into them. They need to see Christ. This is life or death . They pour themselves out to you. You have one of two choices. One you step out of the way and let the Holy Spirit love them through you and speak life into them. Or you get in the way, and  in your messy state that  your humanness is, you speak death into them.
I know that when I stand before my Lord I do not want to look back and see that I got in the way of the Holy Spirit. It is never about how we personally feel about a person. It is not about us. That wrong line of thinking is what got us kicked out of the garden in the first place.
Our goal as Christians is to become Christ-like. Christ fellowshipped with sinners. He did not show partiality. He just loved all that sought Him, and He loved those that did not. Yes, He did judge and condemned those that rejected Him. It is His birth right, not ours.

We have been given the gift of grace, and, as Christians, we should impart grace upon all persons. Grace goes above and beyond love. Loving all people is right, but left on its own love is not powerful enough to change the heart. God loves us, but that love alone was not enough. He saw that we needed grace, amazing grace. Grace is what sets us free. Grace amps up love. For us as Christians we must extend grace to those that are waiting. We must check the condition of our own heart and be mindful that love on its own is not enough. Love is often a gift that we put in a box and wrap it with bows of reactions, conditions and expectations and when we feel as thou one or all have been violated we grab the end of the bow and pull it back according to the degree of violation. Often when we try to rewrap the gift of love it is not the same as it was when we first gave it away. The only thing that should be attached to love is grace. Grace is God’s love in action.