“Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Matthew 22:39
I love the fact that, though Jesus rarely answered questions outright, usually
responding with a question, there was one occasion when this was not the case. “Which is
the greatest commandment?” He was asked, and immediately responded, “Love God, and
love others” (my paraphrase).
Love overcomes. We don’t have to agree with the faith or the lifestyle of the
other. Our role is to love.
I love when the Holy Spirit suddenly calls us to act counter to our natural bent –
like the time the transvestite came to our Saturday night assembly, and I started to nudge
someone and tell them to look, but the Lord arrested and sent me to him with total joy in
order to welcome him.
I also love when the Holy Spirit surprises us with words we never could have had
on our own – like the time when the stripper came up to me following an assembly at
Belmont and said, “I take my clothes off for a living. Can I be a Christian?” to which I,
with no forethought, looked straight into her eyes and responded, “Honey, you turn your
life over to Jesus. He’ll tell you when to put your clothes on and when to take them off.” I
walked away smiling, “Lord, that was brilliant! I never would have thought of that!”
Recently I was feeling all holy and disturbed about the lifestyle of someone I love
very dearly. And then the Lord reminded me, “You are not the Holy Spirit. Your role is
to love. My role is to convict.”
I am challenged. I want to love God more. I want to love others better. I want to
love people into the Kingdom.
Want to join me? Let’s do it!