Love is a powerful force in the world, capable of overcoming even the most difficult obstacles and transforming lives. Yet, all too often, our love is conditional and comes with a list of qualifications and preconditions. We love only those who love us back or look, think, and act like us. But true love, the love of Jesus, knows no bounds.
One of my least favorite statements is "Love the sinner; hate the sin." This statement is destructive and rooted in poor theology. This statement tries to give our bias a pious way out of our privilege to lavish love upon others. The phrase has judgment at its core, which goes against the love described in 1 Corinthians 13. A better phrase is: "Love everyone and work with God on your sin." A better phrase is: "Love everyone and work with God on your sin." In John 13:34-35, Jesus commands us to love one another, just as he has loved us. This is a love that goes beyond our personal preferences and biases and extends to all people, regardless of their race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or social status. It is a love that transcends all boundaries and embraces everyone as they are. But this love is not just a passive acceptance of others. It requires action, sacrifice, and a willingness to go the extra mile. As Galatians 5:6 reminds us, love is not just a feeling but a force that drives us to do good for others and to make a positive impact on the world. One of my favorite quotes about love comes from Martin Luther King Jr., who said, "Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." This statement is a powerful reminder that love can heal even the deepest wounds and bring about real and lasting change. Love is the most excellent way (1 Corinthians 12:31). So, let us love without qualifiers or preconditions. Let us reach out to those who are different from us and extend a hand of kindness and compassion. Let us love everyone, just as Jesus loves us, and let our love reflect his grace and mercy in the world. In conclusion, let us remember that loving well means loving without qualifications or preconditions. Let us go out into the world and love like Jesus, for he has called us to be a light in the darkness and to bring healing and hope to a broken and hurting world.
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The question that I continually face is “Am I willing to lay down my life so that others may live?” This is a terribly haunting and troubling question. What does it really mean to lay down one’s life? Is it just a matter of giving up a heartbeat for another, or is it also allowing one’s heart to break, so that others may live? I tend to think it is to be willing for both to happen, not only for our friends, but also for our enemies. The death of Jesus represents both concepts in regards to laying down one’s life. “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). In 2013, God sent me two treks to begin to show me what this means. He sent me to Kenya to look into the eyes of the orphaned, and He sent me to our streets to look through the eyes of the homeless. Through these experiences, He broke my heart. He showed me how apart from His grace, that I too am spiritually orphaned and homeless. He then called me to give more of my life “so that others may live.” Recently, I was led to the story of Esther, who was a Jewish queen of the Persian King Ahasuerus. She was out of place, and living between two different worlds—of the Jews and the Persians. Her uncle, Mordecai, informed Esther of a decree that would exterminate the Jews. Esther was reluctant to speak because of her fear of the King, but Mordecai replied to her: “Do not think to yourself that in the king's palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (4:13-14). I believe I was led to this passage because I am frequently concerned about things, and yet, I do not speak up. I am concerned that we as a corporate “Church” are shutting the “door of the kingdom of heaven in people's faces” (Matthew 23:13). The church is quick to recite John 3:16, but neglects to understand the amazing teaching found in the next verse: “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” This verse is further illuminated in John 12:32, when Jesus says: “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” Notice that the message of God’s son is not condemnation, but acceptance for everyone! The Church, which bears the name of Christ, must share in dispensing the amazing grace and unconditional love that He demonstrated in His life, teachings, and death. The love of Jesus is incarnational and we are called to model it! Incarnational love means that we model the spirit of Christ as found in Philippians 2:1-11, and engage in the ministry described in Luke 4:18-19: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Jesus did wait for people to come to Him, but He came to us! He came not to condemn, but to love and to show us the Father. He came to heal us and to sanctify us! Jesus tells us:"Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." Jesus came to tear down “the dividing wall of hostility” (Eph. 2:14), and to “reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven” (Col. 1:20). And, Paul exhorts us to be Christ’s ambassadors as we continue in the similar ministry of reconciliation! (2 Cor. 5:20). Right Answers to Wrong Questions6/13/2018 My life has been interesting and filled with diversity, to say the least. I grew up between two religious traditions: Judaism and Christianity. My parents were divorced very early in my life, and I now have four parents with four very different families. My career fields in the past decade have spanned: higher education, nonprofit, government service, political campaigning, business, and one day as a substitute teacher (that is a whole other story). I have walked with senators, slept with the homeless, cried with the mourning, and rejoiced with the happy. I have failed more than I have succeeded. It is through this multi-faceted lens that I approach my faith, the scriptures, and our world. The purpose of this article is to give you a glimpse into my views on faith and society. Frequently, I am asked a question similar to this: "Do you believe that _____ is a sin?" One can fill in the blank with all sorts of vices, but all too frequently the blank is filled with the vice of others, rather than the plank in our own eyes (Matthew 7:5). The question is seldom asked without a prejudice associated with it, whereby we seek to justify our actions (Luke 10:29). We all have a lens through which we approach the world, but we all do not acknowledge it; therefore, we cannot challenge it. The Apostle Paul states that we "see through a glass darkly" (1 Corinthians 13:12). We must understand that we are in the dark before we ever attempt to find the light. In so many places in society, we have been told: "There are no stupid questions." As an academic who has lectured in front of countless students over the past decade, I can say with certainty that there are stupid questions. More specifically, there are wrong questions for which we might have the right answers. In supervising doctoral students in writing their dissertations, I spend a great deal of time challenging their research questions. One may find it interesting that the hardest part for many doctoral students is not writing the dissertation document, but in formulating good research questions. The questions are more important than the answers, which is a difficult concept for many because we want the right answer, not more questions. We want to get an "A" in a course because we got the right answers, not because we left the class with more questions than answers. We are not comfortable with ambiguity and mystery, and yet these are essential elements to faith. Wrong questions emerge from opinions, bias, and ignorance. Jesus frequently dealt with wrong questions and He frustrated the one who asked the question by not giving an answer to their question but instead reframing both the question and the answer. Take a look at the Gospels and you can see why the religious leaders hated Him so much. He disputed their established answers by challenging their questions. He demonstrated that God was more interested in challenging the process than He was with the outcome (Hebrews 5:8; 12:2). After all, Jesus knows the outcome because He is author and finisher of our faith (12:2). Wrong questions emerge from opinions, bias, and ignorance. Jesus frequently dealt with wrong questions and He frustrated the one who asked the question by not giving an answer to their question but instead reframing both the question and the answer. Take a look at the Gospels and you can see why the religious leaders hated Him so much. He disputed their established answers by challenging their questions. He demonstrated that God was more interested in challenging the process than He was with the outcome (Hebrews 5:8; 12:2). After all, Jesus knows the outcome because He is author and finisher of our faith (12:2). As a student, frequently I would find myself frustrated with instructors who said that we should not worry about the grade, but focus on the learning. My frustration was rooted in the fact that in this life grades matter! And, if grades did not matter, then why give me a grade at all? The pursuit of a good grade caused both good and bad actions: I studied, and I cheated. After all, I needed a good grade. The focus on the outcome proved detrimental to my learning process. The biblical law is focused on outcome to demonstrate that we cannot earn a good grade in God’s kingdom. The purpose of the law is described in Romans 5:20: "God's law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God's wonderful grace became more abundant." Jesus takes away the grade, not by dismissing it, but by fulfilling it (Matthew 5:17). “He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:14). Jesus passed the test, and now we don't have to worry about the wrong questions, but we can focus on the right answer! Jesus is the right answer! God replaces our performance-shamed based worth, with a grace-based value! Having received my doctorate in 2013 has freed me from having to take tests and answering the questions that some outside authority has imposed upon me to answer. It has been so freeing because it has provided me with the time to challenge my questions. However, as noted above, I am still frequented with the questions of others, which is a challenge, opportunity, privilege, and burden. People desire the right answers because they are uncomfortable with questions. I understand this desire, and it is found in the pages of scripture. Take for example Exodus 3:13-14: "Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” I can imagine that this was not a fulfilling answer to Moses. The reason that the answer was not fulfilling is that it was a bad question rooted in bad motives—Moses was trying to get out of doing what God wanted Him to do because He was scared. Our motives are the biases that frame our questions. God challenges our motives. Our love for God, neighbors, and enemies should be the motive that fuels our questions (Matthew 22:40) because LOVE is the fulfillment of the law (Romans 13:10). Jesus forewarns: “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold" (Matthew 24:12). This passage is a warning to the CHURCH, not the world. The word for love in the Greek used here is AGAPE. According to Gotquestions.org: "The essence of agape love is goodwill, benevolence, and willful delight in the object of love. Unlike our English word love, agape is not used in the New Testament to refer to romantic or sexual love. Nor does it refer to close friendship or brotherly love, for which the Greek word philia is used. Agape love involves faithfulness, commitment, and an act of the will. It is distinguished from the other types of love by its lofty moral nature and strong character. Agape love is beautifully described in 1 Corinthians 13.” Agape love comes from God and belongs to the children of God, but Jesus tells us that it will grow cold in the latter days. As our love grows cold, so our questions emerge not from a sincere desire to learn but to win by justifying ourselves and attempting to earn a grade in Heaven that we could never earn. The more I study, the more I am reminded of how much I do not know or could comprehend. As we study His Word (2 Timothy 2:15), we should come to appreciate the incredible beauty of Grace, the foolishness of humankind, and the wisdom of God. I think it is time to put simple questions and arguments aside: "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me” (1 Corinthians 13:11). Trust that God is more than capable of handling the arguments of our day. In the meantime, individually and collectively we should “continue to work out [our own] salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12). And we must remember this one, unalterable truth: “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst” (1 Timothy 1:15). Drop the stones and run to the cross! AuthorDr. Rob Weinstein is the Founding/Senior Pastor of Bethany Grace Community Church in Bridgeton, NJ. He is also a Professor of Business Studies/Academic Director/Chair of Human Resource Management Studies. He is the Founder of the M25 Initiative, a nonprofit dedicated to ending homelessness and food insecurity in Cumberland County, NJ. Archives
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