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Hope, with a splash of romance.
Tag: Love
Loving others in the kind of sacrificial love Jesus is commanding in John 13 isn’t easy under good circumstances. When there are things going on behind the scenes on our own lives that drains the strength from us, it can feel impossible. It can feel as if you have nothing to give, yet more and more people are asking you to give your time, your ear, your advice, your patience, and on and on…
A year ago, if someone had told us we would be penning this letter, I would have waved them off as crazy. Then God began to move in our lives in a way neither of us expected, and neither of us searched for. If He had told us that taking new jobs, or building our dream house would lead us to this moment, I have no doubt we would have rejected it all. We’ve done it before.
Every human being, no matter who they are, what they have done, or where they are in society is loved deeply by God.
But – it is not a gift simply for gift’s sake. He freely makes us new and gives us the ability to see people the way He does for a reason, listed in verse 18.
“And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to Himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to Him.”
When I came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, it wasn’t because someone told me that sleeping around, drinking, and having an abortion was wrong. In fact, the people who told me that are the ones who drove me away from church.
The message I received was, “Stop sinning and trust Jesus so He can love you.”
We want them to know about Jesus and about the holiness of God, but the idea that they will be as welcome in the church and in the kingdom of God as we are? Nope. They shouldn’t get off that easy after what they’ve done!
While we are both fairly adept at meeting these needs when we are at home, I recently came to realize they were causing some mismanaged expectations during our Quality Time moments.
It all comes down to defining what “Quality” is to Robert verses what it means to me.