During this week’s pastoral team meeting the Lord reminded me of John 13:35.
“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
As my family expands to include two daughters-in-law, one son-in-law, and two grandsons, there are many more relationships to navigate. With the increased number of relationships comes an increased number of opinions and approaches to life. While I am thankful that we all subscribe to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in our lives, there is this matter of interpreting God’s Word in the bible. The Lord is challenging me to put love as the top priority in all of my relationships in my family. Loving does not mean that we all agree on everything. But it does mean that I will never sever my loving family relationships as a husband, father, and grandfather.
What about us in the LifeSpring family? What about me as a congregant of our LifeSpring family. Do I expect people to behave, believe in our Lord Jesus Christ before I love, and accept them into our church family? Or do I love and accept them (not their sin) into our church family, for them to believe in our Lord Jesus Christ before God (I) can expect them to behave accordingly?
In John 13, our Lord Jesus Christ loved Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to the very end, even knowing that Judas would betray Him. Wow, that is why our Lord Jesus Christ had the authority to give me and LifeSpring a new commandment.
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
I and we have a choice to love or not.