“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35).
I watch the news and social media feeds in horror these days. The amount of anger and hatred I see is just heart-wrenching. The thing that really causes me heartache is that CHRIST-followers add to the turmoil by fighting over some of the most trivial things. Now, don't get me wrong there are some things that we do indeed need to contend for in the faith, but the bulk of the stuff we argue and fight about inside the church really is not going to matter in 10,000 years. We have so many people who claim to know Christ but are just as mean as snakes. If we truly know who Jesus is and we claim to follow Him, our lives should look different.
Jesus has given Christ-followers a mandate to love as He loves. Why? So that everyone around us will know that we are HIS disciples. We all carry a banner in front of us and if we are claiming to know Jesus we should not look like the world. We should not be bitter, angry, unforgiving, and resentful. We should be full of joy and peace. Why? Because the Prince of Peace orders our steps. We should not be angry and bitter with each other but rather we should love each other with a fierceness that cannot be matched. How does this play out? We should pour our lives out for each other, walk with one another even when it's not easy, pray for each other constantly, and give when there is a need. Sadly, I don't see this too often...I see people who are quick to want to rip apart and tear down.
"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen”
(Ephesians 4:29).
We need to be building one another up in the Lord. We need to be coming alongside each other in a spirit of love, encouraging each other to press into Jesus. But sadly I often see people who claim that they are “only speaking truth and in love” but they really have an underlying desire to destroy and build themselves up. If your desire is to be proven right in your theology, rather than seeing people reconciled to the God of the universe, your motive is wrong.
Above all else, we should have a desire to see people come to know Jesus, and if we're jerks to one another that can really be counterproductive.
Let your theology and doctrine prove that you truly do believe that God is sovereign. One of the best ways we do that is by confronting sin, but doing so in a way that proves you want to see people reconciled to Jesus. It’s not just that you get to say you're right.
Use your biblical knowledge like a scalpel not a sledgehammer. May your theology lead people to see Jesus as the one who can and will save and redeem them from their sinfulness.
Soli Deo gloria
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