><>...James...You are exactly right...
And so is David's intent....We are to Take the lead of Jesus..and no one could ever love anyone more than He loved all....and as you say even in His anger he loved....He observed what was evil and not of God and He called it what it was....He never stood by and allowed anyone to make null and void the word of God..never...He called a hypocrite a hypocrite...a murder a murder..a liar a liar...there is no more a scathing condemnation of a group by Jesus than is recordered in John 8 :31-47...there was no way that our Lord Jesus would ever stand by and allow anyone to make void the word of God,,,This is love at it's best....The money changers scriptures were also a perfect example...of the Love of our Lord...
It is the vile exchange of nasty words that do nothing to shed light on darkness....But it is our responsibility to be bold in our approach............ of course being always led by the Holy Spirti to expose darkness...to shine a light on it ...and speak the words of God into the situation...and always in Love...
We were commissioned to bring the word of God, and the teachings of Jesus our Lord to all....and certainly not with a "Holier Than Thou Attitude."....And sometimes this is where we all sometimes have failed...But maturity, Love ,and understanding of our fellow human being go a longgg way....
Planting seeds is all we are responsible for....if the seed grows...and they come back for more..then we plant another, and another, and another....and so on....But if the first seed did not take root...well then we know what the parable tells us...To hammer, and hammer a point to anyone is useless and does not manke for good communications..and in almost every case causes enemies....This does Not give any Glory to God....and worse yet if that point is not the word of God and in fact has nothing to do with the teachings of our Lord.....Then our speach will not be Blessed by God...and neither will the seed...
The writing you posted about how God lives His children...says it all
We also see it in our own personal lives...with our own children.....to love is to discipline...
This thread is filled with love.....and mostly good intentions...yes there are times when each one of us might have appeared less than loving, and maybe we were, but sometimes the flesh gets in the way...even our Good brother Paul speaks of that weakness....we all come short of the glory of God....
A prayer that I have made a part of my life in recent times is that God show me the souls of people...I don't want to see the flesh and the sometimes bad behaviors...I want to see past that and into the soul, I guess you might call it discernment.....A great compassion for people was born in me when I began to pray that prayer...a compassion for all....However, there are some that cannot be reached by the words we speak.....them I leave to God....the heart is too hard and must be circumsized by the hand of our Father....and for those I pray....
Also read some of the writings of our loving brother Paul...He was in no way a push over.....He also called evil...evil...and brought it to the attention of all concerned...This is also love...Enough
May God be with us all in our attempts to bring Him all The Glory,,so that others may see Jesus....
Love in our Lord Jesus
Shalom...><>
PS ...God is not glorified when we argue with the heathen...they are fueled by some of the posts here..and only continue and mock God further..I discern that Hal Jordan is a good man, who I believe has the hand of God on him....None are here by accident....some are sent by God...and some are not...it is that clear.!!....Possibly Skipper too..!
Thank you again david for the opportunity to talk on this very important issue... |
