We Need Each Other

    In the last post we took a look at our basic need for God - our dependency on Him for salvation and eternal life. The gist of it is, we cannot get salvation, forgiveness for our sins, or eternal life on our own. The standard to get it is nothing short of perfection. If you're less than perfect (and you are less than perfect, sorry to burst your bubble there), then you cannot get to God. There is nothing you can do. And this is why Jesus came to the earth. He lived the perfect life we never could. He paid the penalty for all of our sins like we never could (His death on the cross). And He rose from the dead like we never could (and I don't mean His heart stopped for a few minutes - He was dead dead, like really dead for a couple of days). And what He accomplished in all of this was making a way for us to get to God. So, it is only by grace, through faith in Jesus, that we can be forgiven for our sins, receive salvation from Hell, and live forever with God. For that, we are entirely dependent on God.

    Ok, so that was a longer summary than I intended, but it needed to be said. I hope that puts it in perspective for you. So, if we are already entirely dependent on God for our salvation, then why do we try to stop there? Like, "Okay, God, thanks for the salvation and all but I got the rest of it on my own". No! That's not how we're meant to live, and it's not how we have to live. Jesus said to those who follow Him in Matthew 11:28-30:

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

    When we face trials, struggles, hardships, anxieties, stress, and anything else life has to throw at us, we are told by God that we can take these things to Him. We can continue to rely and depend on Him for comfort, peace, and guidance through whatever comes our way. That's an incredible hope, knowing that we can rely on the all-powerful God to see us through our struggles!

    But that's not all. Read through the following Bible verses and see if you can put together the common theme running throughout them all. (And try not to just skim, these verses are more important than anything I could say in this post - you'll benefit the most from these).

Psalm 133:1 - Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 - Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Matthew 18:20 - For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.

John 13:34-35 – 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. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

Acts 2:42-47 - And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Acts 12:5 - So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.

Romans 12:5 -  so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

Romans 12:10-13 - Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

1 Corinthians 12:25-27 - that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

Galatians 6:2 - Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Philippians 2:3-4 - So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Colossians 3:13 - bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

Hebrews 10:24-25 - And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

James 5:16 – Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power as it is working.

1 Peter 3:8 - Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.

1 Peter 4:8-10 - Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace.

1 John 1:7 - But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

Common theme?

Acceptable answers include: community, bearing with one another in love, loving each other, fellowship (if you want to use the church-y word), or anything along those lines.

    Throughout Scripture, God calls His people to bear with one another in love, to carry each others burdens, to support and encourage each other. He points out over and over the importance of having a solid community of faith around you. As you read through the New Testament in particular, almost every letter from the apostles includes some kind of call to love and support fellow believers. We just read through a bunch of them above.

    Life comes with highs and lows, and just as we can go to God with these - giving thanks for the good things and seeking guidance for the bad - we also ought to share our burdens with one another. We do not have to face life - or figure it out - alone. Our faith isn't just between us and God, but is shared with every other Christian in the world. That's a big community!

    God provided the "church" (the gathering or assembly of believers) so that we could gather together as a community and care for each other, not just so we could sing some songs, play some games, or hear some messages. Those are good things, but the real purpose of meeting together regularly like we do is to love one another and worship God together.

That's why Jesus boiled down the entire Old Testament Law into two commands:

1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

2. Love your neighbor as yourself.

    And just as we are loving our neighbor, they are loving us, and it's an amazing support network of fellow Jesus-followers.

    When you're at youth group, or for those of you who attend a church, do you ever feel like you can't open up? Do you ever feel like you can't share what's really going on under the surface? Do you ever feel like you have to put on your "happy face" and pretend everything is okay, even when it is not?

    I'll be honest, I used to feel this way all the time, especially in youth group. Even today, there are times when I feel like I have to shove the bad stuff down and smile. When I was in youth group, I felt like the other students wouldn't really care about what was going on, or that they would look at me different if they knew. And I know it can feel like that for you, too.

    But part of the purpose of Christian communities like a youth group or local church is for them to be a place where you can open up about what's going on in your life, where you can share the struggles and trials you're facing, and where the people around you can love and support and encourage you as you go through life.

    One of our leaders couldn't be at our meeting last night because a family in his other church had lost their child. He was with the family at the funeral, just being there for them as they mourned. When someone from our community goes through something devastating like that, we are called to show up, to be there for them in their hour of need. Likewise, when we are going through something, members of our community ought to show up, to be there for us.

    But, how can they be there if they don't know what's going on? This is why God places so much emphasis on sharing with each other and bearing each others burdens. I am not saying you have to tell every Christian you meet everything that's going on, but you should connect with your Family Group leaders, or other trusted members of your faith community, and open up about whatever struggles you're facing.

You don't have to face those things alone.

    I know that I am moving soon, and I won't be around in person after this summer is over, but just because I am not with you in person doesn't mean I have stopped caring about you. Wherever I am, and wherever you are, I want you to know that you can always call/text/email/dm me when you need someone to talk to. We are eternally bonded by our common faith in Jesus.

We depend on God.

We depend on each other.

We need each other.

Amen.

Can You Love the Sinner and Hate the Sin?

 Short answer: Yes.

    When I was a kid I did some pretty awful stuff. I used to argue with my mom over everything, I talked back to both of my parents, I cursed at them only once, I kicked my older brother and hit my younger sister, I lied, I cheated on HW, quizzes and tests, I forged my mom's signature on those HWs, quizzes, and tests, and definitely a lot more stuff that I'm just not remembering.

    Sometimes I got away with it - my mom didn't find out about me forging her signature until I told her years later. Usually, though, I got caught and was punished. If the bad thing involved my words, I got my mouth washed out with soap. If it involved physical violence, I got spanked. I got spanked a lot. And if it involved something else, I would get sent to my room or wouldn't be allowed to watch TV or play videogames. The points is my parents disciplined me when I did something bad.

    Now, why am I telling you this? Because my parents loved me. A lot. And they still love me a lot. If I got hurt, even from doing something bad, they bandaged me up. They cared for me. They loved me.

    A phrase that gets used a lot in the church today is "Love the sinner, hate the sin". Recently, our culture has been arguing against this phrase, claiming that it does more harm than good. They claim that if you love someone, you have to accept them for who they are and what they do. They claim that you can't separate these things, so if you "love the sinner" you must also "love the sin". But this isn't what biblical love is. This isn't what we're talking about when we say to love the sinner and hate the sin. Let's dive into the classic "love" passage of the Bible, 1 Corinthians 13, and see what God has to say about what biblical love is.

“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 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. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

We can learn three basic lessons of biblical love from this passage:

1. Biblical love surpasses everything else we can do.

    Love is more important than knowledge, more important than prophecy, more important than spiritual gifts, more important than faith, more important than generosity, and more important than sacrifice. All of these things are good, but if they do not drive you to a love for God and a love for others, then you have missed the point. If you are lacking in love, nothing else matters.

2. Biblical love looks to the ultimate benefit of others.

    If we were to restate the middle part of this passage as a summary of what love is, it would read like this: Love is patient, kind, content, humble, respectful, selfless, slow to anger, and forgiving. A biblically loving person protects others, trusts others, maintains a hope for others, and perseveres through hardship (caused by others). These characteristics have the best needs and interests of others at heart.

3. Biblical love lasts forever.

    Love is not a feeling that comes and goes with our emotions - it lasts into eternity. Eventually all prophecies are going to be fulfilled, eventually all knowledge will be complete, but beyond those things are faith, hope and love - with love being the greatest of the three. Biblical love lasts forever because it comes from God. We love Him and others because He first loved us:

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." John 3:16-18

    God's love for us prompted Him to come to the earth as a man and die for our sins so we could be reunited with Him forever. He took our punishment on Himself so that we could have everlasting life. And this is a FREE GIFT to everyone who believes in Jesus. This is the Gospel. This is the love of God. This is biblical love.

Biblical love is a choice that we make to put the needs of others before ourselves.

To put the needs of others before ourselves.

What are the needs of others?

    Let's look back at my childhood self. I was doing some pretty awful stuff - perhaps characteristic of most kids, but awful nonetheless. Disobeying my parents, harming my siblings both verbally and physically, and all around just being dishonest. What I needed was exactly what my parents gave me: correction. They disciplined me to show me that those behaviors were unacceptable and that I needed to change.

1 Corinthians 13:6 says, "Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth."

    My parents loved me, and because they loved me they did not affirm my evil behaviors. Instead, out of love for me, they corrected those evil behaviors. They loved me, but hated what I was doing. And that involved correction. It involved speaking the truth of God's Word into my life and showing me what was right and good and what I ought to do - they didn't delight in evil; they rejoiced with the truth.

    We see this same concept all through the Old Testament between God and the nation of Israel. Israel was His chosen people, and yet they didn't always follow Him. Quite often Israel rebelled against God and did what was evil in His sight. He hated what they were doing, but as you read the Old Testament, did He ever stop loving them? No. Sure, He punished them for their evil deeds, but His love for them never ceased. He loved them, all the while hating their sin.

    What I needed as a child was correction, and what the Israelites needed was correction, too. People today need correction. Even many Christians have fallen far away from God's will of what is right and good. But each person's first and foremost need, above everything else, is the Gospel. They need the everlasting life that comes by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. In Jesus we have forgiveness for our sin, restoration in our relationship with God, and everlasting life. Correction and life transformation come after that need for life is met, through the working of the Holy Spirit.

    I'd like to clarify quickly that there is a difference between our biggest need and our immediate needs. If we come across someone dying of thirst, but instead of offering them water we only share the Gospel with them - and they die before we even finish sharing - we have not met their needs and we have not loved them. In a situation like that, the loving thing to do would be to meet their immediate need and then share the Gospel. But, if we only meet the immediate need (giving them water) and don't share the Gospel, then once again we have not loved them because while they may live a little longer, they will die without forgiveness for their sin, restoration in their relationship with God, and everlasting life. They will go to eternal torment. Neglecting to share the Gospel is not loving.

    When we see people living in sin - sexual immorality, addictions, idolatry, dishonesty, lust, greed, etc. - we are NOT called to affirm those people in their sin. No. We are called to LOVE those people. And what that requires is that we speak the truth - in love - to them. 

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." Romans 3:23-24

    They are sinners, in need of a Savior. We, too, were once sinners in need of a Savior. And by His grace, we are justified through the redemption that came by Jesus. They need to know that regardless of their sin, they can be forgiven and saved through faith in Jesus Christ. He is the way and the truth and the life. To not share this truth with them is to truly hate them.

    Now, if you're sitting there and you're thinking "this is too hard" or "it's really intimidating to share the Gospel", here are three things you can do to prepare to love others the way God has called to:

1. Lean into your personal relationship with Jesus.*

    Through your faith in Jesus you are connected to God's unconditional love for you. His love has changed you and is continually making you more and more like Jesus. Embrace that.

2. Develop a desire for making disciples.*

    Just as you have been changed to be more like Jesus, grow a desire to see others become more like Jesus. Pray that they would see the truth of God's Word and respond with faith.

3. Believe that Jesus can change anyone.*

    If He can change you, and if He can change me, then He can change anyone - you have to believe that He has the power to radically change anyone. What God has done for you and me, He can do for others. Believe it.

    As you prepare in these ways, continually pray for God to bring the right people into your life to support and encourage you in your Christian walk. Then go, live as God has called you to live, and share the truth with the people around you. In this way you will demonstrate love to the sinner, all the while leading them from their sin to their Savior.

Amen.

*These points are borrowed (and reworded) from Steve Schramm's article "How to Love Others Without Condoning Their Actions" which is a good read and helped me formulate my thoughts in this post.

Biblical Marriage: Love and Submission

 

When I was a child, I used to swear up and down that I was never getting married. I was adamant. At first it was because I thought girls had "cooties" or whatever, but I as I grew up and as I started to actually really like girls, I continued to be adamant about not wanting to get married. But the truth was, I really did  want to get married. I was only saying that I didn't because I didn't want to talk to my parents about girls. I figured that if they thought I wasn't interested then they wouldn't ask about it. That didn't work as well as I hoped it would, and under the surface I had a longing hope that one day I would get married.

What about you? Maybe you are reading this and have already gotten married (like me!), or maybe you're sitting there in complete denial about ever getting married (also like me). If you're not yet married, answer this: do you want to get married one day?

If you answered "yes" or "maybe", this next question is going to be a little harder: What does that mean? What is marriage?

And if you're reading this and you're already married - how's it going? What has been your approach to marriage?

Cultural Perspective:

Before we go into the biblical understanding of marriage, let's first look at our culture's understanding. I went to Wikipedia for this one so if you want to go deeper into the cultural history of marriage just head over there. "Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between them and their in-laws." Our culture typically views marriage in its legal sense - you get tax breaks, certain medical privileges (when it comes to decisions and whatnot), and in some cases even citizenship.

In America, most people see marriage as a couple's commitment to their personal love for one another. We don't typically have arranged marriages or political marriages like you might find in other parts of the globe. While it can be about gaining money or status (I'm thinking about gold-diggers here), usually we see it as a culmination of love. When you're "in love" with someone and they are "in love" with you, you get married. But if, somewhere down the line, one or both of you fall "out of love" with the other (and so you're no longer happy in the marriage), the next step is to get a divorce. After this you may find someone else to fall in love with, and you might start the whole process all over again - hopefully with better results.

Of course, there will be nuances to this depending on who you talk to, but this is the general mentality of modern, non-religious (and even many religious) Americans. This is what we see portrayed on TV, in movies, and in most modern novels.

This mentality stems from our country's pervasive emphasis on individualism. This is the idea that the "self" is most important. Statements like "you are unique", "you are special", "you do you", and "live your truth" all come from individualism. They put the "self" first, above everything else, so that you are always seeking out what is going to make you happy and bring you fulfillment. Consequently, anything that doesn't make you happy is not worth the effort so you should move on. Your marriage isn't making you happy anymore? Drop it. Your spouse isn't making you happy anymore? Find someone who will. 

Its a strictly "me first" mentality, approaching marriage with a "what's in it for me" attitude.

Biblical Perspective:

For the Christian, this is an unacceptable mentality. This is not biblical marriage, and it is not at all what God instituted when He created Adam and Eve.

If you look back at previous posts, you'll see that we have been discussing biblical sexuality quite a bit, and I have brought back again and again that in the beginning God established the norm for marriage as being between and a man and woman. Sex is a good thing that God created, and it is supposed to be enjoyed within the context of the marriage relationship, exclusively. Throughout the Bible, whenever people have deviated from this norm, bad things happen as a result. Polygamy (multiple wives) causes drama, in-fighting, jealousy, idolatry, and favoritism. Adultery (sexual infidelity to your spouse) causes jealousy, fighting, and murder. Sexual promiscuity (sleeping around) causes sickness, depression, jealousy, and usually exploitation in one form or another. And in all these circumstances, the problems always extended beyond just the people involved. The problems affected their families, their children, their friends, their neighbors, and for those in power, entire countries.

Marriage is not meant to be taken lightly, and it is not meant to be distorted away from God's norm. When a man and woman come together in marriage, they unite to become "one flesh". Two people come together as one, so that they are no longer facing life individually, but as one united front. The language switches from "I will do this, she will do that" to "We will do this and we will do that". That's why Jesus said, in response to questions about divorce, "what God has brought together let not man separate".

Marriage, the way God intended it to be, is a direct contrast to modern individualism. Marriage takes individuals and melds them into a cohesive whole. Where individualism asks "What's in it for me?", marriage asks "What's in it for us?" Marriage is all about "we" - its about wholeness and unity between two people.

Ephesians 5:21-33

"21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

22 Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— 30 for we are members of his body. 31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” 32 This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband."

In this passage Paul talks about the attitudes and decisions necessary for a biblical marriage to work. We can't approach marriage the way our culture does and expect to have a healthy, vibrant and biblical marriage. We have to approach marriage God's way, so let's look at this together.

Verse 21 - this is an important precedent to the rest of the passage. We need to remember that in Christ we are all one and so we should all, as Christians, submit to one another as we submit to Christ. This goes for everyone in the church, regardless of gender.

Verse 22 - here Paul shifts to speaking directly into a marriage relationship. He calls for wives to submit to their husbands, but what does that mean? "Submit" means "to accept or yield to the will of another person". Within the marriage relationship God has established an hierarchy, that the man should be the head of the family. It is the man's responsibility to lead the family and the wife should submit to his leadership. They might discuss future plans, child-rearing strategies, or finances together, but ultimately it is the husband's responsibility to lead his family in those decisions. In the same way Jesus Christ leads the church and we submit to His leadership. We trust His leadership over us because of His great love for us, which brings us to the next section:

Verse 25 - husbands are to love their wives. I've talked about this in previous posts, but whenever the Bible mentions "love", we need to remember that it is not referring to that feeling of being "in love". Rather, biblical love is a choice, an action, to put others before the self (see how this is in contrast with individualism, which puts the self first?). The love that the husband is commanded to demonstrate is a choice he must make on a daily basis to put the needs of his wife and his children before his own. Let's remember that biblical leadership is servant leadership. It is not some authoritarian rule, where I get to issue commands and my family has to do what I say. Instead, it is a loving service where I put the needs of my family before my own needs, even if it would cost me my life. This is the same kind of loving service that led Jesus to the cross to die for our sins. He loved the church the same way that a husband is to love his wife. We submit to Jesus because of His love for us. Likewise, when a husband makes decisions and leads the family out of that kind of love for them, it becomes so much easier for them to submit to his leadership.

So what we see here is a cycle:

The husband loves his wife, and the wife submits to her husband. A biblical marriage centers around this cycle, and it functions well so long as both people are engaging in the cycle. If the husband stops loving his wife, it might not take long for her to stop submitting to her husband. Vice versa, if the wife stops submitting to her husband, it might not take long before the husband stops making decisions out of love for her. When the cycle gets broken, most people tend to revert to individualistic mentalities - "well, if they're not going to love me, then I'm not going to submit to them" or "I'll love her if she would just submit to me". When the cycle gets broken, that's a sign that the couple needs to have a conversation and return to the Word of God, to be reminded of God's commands for each of them in the marriage.

Now, where most of the protests come in is that we approach these verses from an individualistic perspective. Like the examples I just mentioned, we might say "Well, what if he isn't making decisions out of love for me?" Or, "What if she refuses to submit to me?" The thing is, we can't control other people, not even our spouse. We are responsible for our own actions and decisions, which means that regardless of the other person's involvement in the cycle, it is our responsibility to do our part. For me, whether my wife submits to my leadership or not, my responsibility is to love her. Even if I am not demonstrating love for her, her responsibility is to submit to me. And then we can open up conversations with the other person, with Scripture, about their part. This is probably going to be most fruitful with a trusted third party involved, like a pastor.

But what these questions really highlight is the importance of choosing the right partner. Who we choose to marry is going to have a huge impact on the quality of the marriage.

The Bible warns us against being "unequally yoked", and what that means for us is that we should be careful not to enter relationships with people who do not believe as we do. A non-Christian is simply not going to love you or submit to you the way the Bible commands them to. So when we choose to enter those relationships anyway because "he's so cute" or "I really like her", we are going to face challenges in those relationships because the cycle isn't going to be complete.

A biblical marriage, while difficult to achieve (because it takes both people working in mutual love and submission), but it promotes unity, love, stability, and spiritual growth. Children can be raised without fearing that their parents are going to split up. Some of our students have experienced that fear and seen it come to fruition, and it was hard. Broken marriages affect all the people around them. In a biblical marriage, both partners can feel comfort in knowing that the other is there for them no matter what, and it gives us a beautiful picture of the relationship between Christ and the church.

Application

Here is what I want you to do: observe.

Look at the relationships around you and figure out how the people in them are approaching those relationships. Are they coming at it from an individualistic, "me first" perspective? Is one person coming into it with their part of the cycle, but the other isn't? Do you see any relationships around you that have entered into this cycle?

Once you have observed, ask yourself this: are they both content? Is there stability? Are they finding fulfillment?

You probably won't be able to answer those questions because you can't see behind the scenes. But as you observe and think about it for yourself, what kind of marriage do you want to have? One where both people are fully supported and loved and cared for? Or one where both people are just trying to satisfy themselves and make themselves happy?

If you want to have a godly, biblical relationship and marriage, you need to be careful who you date and who you marry.

How to Speak the Truth in Love

 Ephesians 4:15 says, "Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ." Then, in 1 Peter 3:15 the author writes, "But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect". Throughout the New Testament, Christians are given the command to go out and speak the truth to the world. And every time, Christians are called to do this in a loving way, with gentleness and respect. So the question for today is: how do we speak the truth in love?

Whenever we ask this question, we have to consider who it is that we are speaking to. How we go about speaking the truth in love will be different if we are speaking to fellow Christians versus speaking to non-Christians.

Christians:

Let's first look at how we are to speak the truth in love with fellow believers. To do this, let's take a deeper look into Ephesians 4. For the sake of space, I was going to ask you to go read the chapter for yourself then come back, but then I figured I might as well just share it here:

1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it says:

“When he ascended on high,

    he took many captives

    and gave gifts to his people.”

9 (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.

20 That, however, is not the way of life you learned 21 when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.

29 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. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

 Whew, that's a lot. Let's break it down.

Those who are "in Christ" (Christians) are called to live together in unity and maturity, and we accomplish this by being humble, gentle, patient, and loving toward each other. We are able to be this way with each other because we are all one in Jesus Christ - we hope in the same salvation, follow the same God, and live by the same Spirit which allows us to look past our differences. And we all have a role to fulfill within the community which, when everyone is doing their part, brings us together in unity and helps us all to grow in maturity.

When this is all done well, we are able to constantly look back to the Bible for answers and truth, and call each other out when we start to go astray - which prevents false teaching and wrong ideas from gaining a foothold in the church. This is why it is so important for each of us to read and know the Bible, so that we can point ourselves and others to the truth.

In order for this kind of community and life to be firmly established, each person in the community has to choose to put aside the ways and the thinking of the world. Instead, we choose to follow Jesus and His Word (the Bible). Anyone who claims to be a Christian is making the claim that they have made this choice. "Christian" means "little Christ" and we use the term to designate those who choose to follow Him.

Finally, at the end of the chapter, Paul gets specific with the kinds of behaviors we should or should not have toward each other. Speak truth, work diligently, be generous, speak only what is going to build others up. Get rid of unwholesome talk, bitterness, anger, rage, brawling, slander, and every form of malice. Instead, be kind and compassionate, and forgive each other in the same way that Jesus has forgiven you.

All of this is directed at those who believe in Jesus as they interact with others who also believe in Jesus. This is for those who are within the church, that we should hold each other accountable in a loving way. When people claim to be Christians but go against what the Bible teaches, we are called to challenge them on it. Why? Because in claiming to be a Christian, they are claiming to follow His Word (a.k.a. the Bible). Our challenge is meant to bring them back to the Bible, and show them how what they're doing or teaching goes against what the Bible says.

For example, we have been talking about biblical sexuality and identity in the last two posts (go read them if you haven't already). We have established that in the Bible, God instituted that sex is to be between a man and a woman in marriage. That is what He ordained when He created the world. Any deviation from God's design, from His order, is sin.

So, when someone comes along claiming to be a Christian and also claiming that homosexuality is not sinful, we are called to challenge them on it. Why are we called to do this? Because they claim to follow Jesus but also teach against what the Bible says. There is a disconnect between what they claim to believe and what they're teaching. Now, how do we challenge them?

First, we have a private conversation with them. We take them aside, asking questions to make sure we understand what they're saying. Then we point them to the Bible, like the passages I talked about in the post "Biblical Sexuality: Setting the Foundation". The goal is to show them the truth as found in the Bible, and the disconnect with what they're teaching. If, after this conversation, they refuse to accept what the Bible teaches, then we go and bring someone else with us, preferably someone with higher authority (like an Elder or Pastor). If they still won't listen, then we bring it to the church as a whole. Again, the goal in each of these conversations is to show them the truth of God's Word, and how they have gone away from that truth. If, after all of this, they still will not listen or accept the Bible's teaching, we are called to exclude them from the church.

Why is this? Some kind of punishment? No, net really. Essentially, what they have done is claimed to follow Jesus but rejected His teaching. That doesn't work, logically. You can't both follow and reject Jesus. The purpose of excluding them from the church is to demonstrate how serious this matter is: a Christian who will not submit to God's Word has a serious heart issue, and until they are able to recognize that and humble themselves and submit to God, their continued participation in worship and fellowship with other believers will cause a lot of damage. Not to mention that their beliefs will open up a pathway for false teaching to enter the church. This cannot be allowed to happen, which is why we are called to remove them from the church.

But, remember how Paul says we are to go about this: with love and gentleness, without unwholesome speech, slander, or rage. That means we don't yell, put them down, or curse them at any point in these conversations. Even at the point where we need to exclude someone from our fellowship, we aren't supposed to do it with violence or malice. Our goal, even in exclusion, is to bring them to a knowledge and acceptance of the truth.

Non-Christians:

But what about those who don't believe? What about people who are not Christians?

Romans 10:9-17:

“⁹ If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. ¹¹ As Scripture says, ‘Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.’ ¹² For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, ¹³ for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ ¹⁴ How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? ¹⁵ And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’ ¹⁶ But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed our message?’ ¹⁷ Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.”

Those who are outside the faith are not going to accept Jesus' teaching until they have accepted Jesus.

Read that again.

Our goal, first and foremost, is to share the gospel with non-believers. That's the truth they need to hear. If they haven't heard the gospel or haven't put their faith in Jesus, then nothing else the Bible says will mean anything to them. So, what is the gospel?

There is a God who created the whole universe, including you and me.

He established everything perfect and good.

But we rebelled against Him. This rebellion is called sin. We are sinners.

Sin separates us from God and will ultimately bring us death. There is nothing we can do to fix this problem on our own.

God loves us, even though we are sinners. He came to the earth as a man, Jesus Christ, and died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins.

He took our deaths on Himself, so that by believing in Him, we could have eternal life and be reunited with God forever.

This is where Paul's statement comes in - anyone who declares with their mouth "Jesus is Lord" and believes in their heart that God raised Him from the dead will be saved. Everyone who follows Jesus will be forgiven for their sin and made right with God.

Our mission, as given to us directly by Jesus, is to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to obey everything that Jesus taught. We "make disciples" by sharing the gospel with people and calling them to repent (turn from their sin) and believe in Him as their Lord and Savior. When someone comes to Christ, they cast off who they used to be and become made new in Jesus. They are called to let go of their old way of thinking and grab hold of the truth of God's Word.

People need to know that they are sinners, and they need to know that salvation can be found in Jesus Christ. Too often we see the church spreading a message of hate toward the LGBTQ+ community, focusing so heavily on the fact that they are sinners that we forget to share the good news - that Jesus has paid for their sin on the cross, just as He paid for our sin.

But, as Paul asked in Romans, how are they going to call on the name of Jesus if no one has proclaimed the good news of the gospel to them?

Now, not everyone is going to believe. Paul mentions how some of the people of Israel rejected Jesus. As we go about this, sharing the gospel, we have to expect that people are going to reject Jesus, and, consequently, reject us. But we still have to tell them about Jesus, because if we won't, who will? Each of you reading this have friends or coworkers who don't know Jesus. If you don't tell them about Him, who will?

The most important truth non-believers need to hear is that Jesus Christ came and died for their sin, and that He rose again to bring them eternal life with God. Everything else comes after that essential truth. If they won't accept that, they won't accept anything else God has to say through the Bible.

But again, how are we to do this? With love, gentleness, patience, kindness, compassion and respect. Without yelling, anger, slander, malice or cursing.

Anytime we are going to speak the truth to someone, here are some basic guidelines to make sure we are going about it the right way and with the right motives:

1. Listen before you speak. Try to understand where they're coming from as best as you can - don't just assume you know their perspective. Ask questions, let them clarify, and seek to understand.

2. Check yourself. Make sure your intentions are good - are you starting this conversation for their benefit or is there some other motivation under the surface?

3. Watch your words. Keep it simple and calm. Remember, you can't "unsay" anything. Your words can either bring them to a knowledge and understanding of the truth or they can tear them down and cause lasting damage to their life and faith.

4. Pray before, during, and after the conversation. Ultimately, God is the one who is going to work in their lives, so ask Him for guidance throughout the whole situation.

5. Trust in God. Trust that His Word is true, trust that He will help you, and trust that He will care for this other person.

Christian or non-Christian, we are called to speak the truth in love to others. This takes intentionality, it takes practice, and it takes trusting God in everything we say and do. Ultimately, our goal is always to bring people closer to God and to His Word.

No More Excuses - The Good Samaritan

 If you had to condense all of the commands of God throughout the Bible into just 2 commands, what would they be?

Most of you probably already know that the Bible has done this for us, and you jumped right into "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself." If that's where your mind went, excellent, we are on the same page. These two commands basically sum up everything has commanded of us. Everything we do ought to come out of loving God with all our being and loving others.

Now, how many of you obey these two commands all of the time?

That's a harder question. It is one thing to know what God commands, and it is another thing to actually obey those commands on a daily basis.

It's probably safe to say there are some people in your life that you don't like very much. Maybe it is someone from school, a family member, or some internet troll. What does it mean for us to love these people as ourselves? I mean, what about someone we absolutely despise, or someone who is actively trying to hurt us? Are we supposed to love them, too? How do we do with that command to love our neighbor when the "neighbor" in question is an enemy?

Our passage today is Luke 10:25-37 - the parable of the Good Samaritan.

“And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, ‘Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the Law? How do you read it?’ And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.’ And he said to him, ‘You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.’ But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’ Jesus replied, ‘A wise man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?’ He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘You go and do likewise.’"

There are two basic parts to this passage; two major questions from the lawyer which get addressed. 

1. What do I have to do to inherit eternal life?

2. Who is my neighbor?

For both questions, Jesus responds with a question. In the first question, a lawyer (an expert in the Law of Moses) wants to know what he has to do to inherit eternal life. We might instinctively reply saying something like "There's nothing you can do to inherit eternal life. We're stuck in sin and there's nothing we can do on our own to earn forgiveness become right with God."

What is surprising to many people today is that Jesus doesn't go this way in His response. Instead, He asks the lawyer to look to the Scriptures. We see the lawyer respond with the two greatest commands, which sum up the whole Law, and says that if one follows these he can inherit eternal life. And Jesus once again doesn't reply with "Trick question, you actually can't do anything..." Instead, He says "Great, so go do it. Go and love God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself." Jesus agrees with the lawyer's interpretation. Perfect obedience to the Law of Moses would bring about eternal life.

The problem is, nobody can obey God's Law perfectly. We all fall short of the glory of God. We all mess up at some point. And that's why the apostle Paul, elsewhere in the New Testament, says that the Law of God shows us our sin - when we fall short it shows us how much we need Jesus. And here with this lawyer, Jesus is trying to show the lawyer his shortcomings.

So then we get to the lawyer's follow-up question, and it shows us where his heart is at: "And who is my neighbor?" The passage tells us he is trying to justify himself. He is trying to set a limitation on who actually counts as his neighbor, because if it just the people who live next door to him, then perhaps this guy really has followed the whole Law. Maybe he has a shot at inheriting eternal life. If it includes more than just the people living next door, though, well then he might be in trouble.

We like to put addendums and caveats on the rules because it makes us feel better. Think about a "speed limit" for a moment. Unpack those words - speed limit. Its a limit on how fast you are allowed to go on a road. According to the law, you are not allowed to go any faster than that limit. And yet most drivers treat is as a suggestion, a general guideline. As long as you're within 5 mph of the limit you're good, right? Wrong. That's not what the law says, and anyone who goes above the limit is technically breaking the law.

Now, I know what you're going to say, "Michael, everyone drives a little over the limit, I'm just following the flow of traffic. A cop isn't going to pull me over if I'm only going a few miles over the limit. As long as I'm not being reckless the cops aren't going to care." We make all these excuses so we can feel better about the fact that we're breaking the law. A small infraction is still an infraction. Maybe you make these kinds of excuses for copying a friend's HW, or cheating on a test. Maybe you make them for other rules in your life. Why do we do this?

Because it makes us feel better. It makes us feel as if we are not actually doing anything wrong. But Jesus' reply breaks through all of that. The lawyer wanted to justify himself by putting a limit on who counted as his neighbor, but Jesus didn't let him get away with it.

In the parable we find this ambiguous man beaten, robbed, and left for dead on the side of the road. The first two people to come across him are religious leaders. A priest and Levite would have known the Law, and that they were commanded to love this man and care for him. As leaders they were meant to set an example for others of obeying God's commands. But what do they do? They walk around him and continue on their way. They leave him for dead. Where is their compassion? Where is their love for this man?

Then a Samaritan shows up. For context, Samaritans were half-breeds in the eyes of the Jews. They were half-Jewish and half-something else. Their ancestors had married non-Jews and for that they were looked down upon by "full-blooded" Jews. In addition, they didn't practice all the same things the Jews did from the Law of Moses (partly because they weren't allowed in the Temple), which made the Jews look down on them even more. So, racially and religiously, the Samaritans were hated by the Jews. And likewise, the Samaritans hated the Jews back. There was a lot hatred between the two groups.

Yet what does this Samaritan do? Does he walk on by? No. He stops and shows compassion and love to this beaten man. He makes tremendous sacrifice to go out of his way to make sure this man is cared for. He sacrifices his time, his money, and his resources. The "half-breed heretic" demonstrates what it means to love your neighbor as yourself.

So, Jesus asks the lawyer, "who was a good neighbor to this beaten man?" The lawyer has to respond with "the one who showed mercy" - the Samaritan. So Jesus reaffirms his earlier command: "Go and do likewise." Go and show mercy to those who need it.

The application from this is simple. We should follow the example of the Samaritan. He came across someone in need, and he sacrificed his time and resources to care for him. How often do we come across people in need and make excuses as to why we don't need to help them?

We come across a homeless person and assume they will just use our money for drugs or alcohol, so we don't need to give them money.

We come across a kid getting harassed in school, but we don't know them very well so we don't need to step in and help. Its not our business anyway.

We see another student struggling with a class, but we don't have much free time anyway so we don't have time to help them.

The point of this parable is to show us that excuses don't work with God. If we know the good we ought to do, but do not do it, then for us it is sin. We need to stop making excuses for not having compassion on people. Everyone is our neighbor - our family, our friends, our actual neighbors, every other student and all the teachers and faculty at school, the baristas at Starbucks, and even the trolls on the internet.

Jesus' command at the end of this parable is to show compassion to the people we encounter in our everyday lives, even if it means we have to make sacrifices to help them. It's a hard command, but it's the right thing to do. It is the righteous thing to do. And it is what God wants us to do.

So, go and do likewise.

The 4 Loves

 SO, our last post covered a discussion on what it means to truly love God, but based on the feedback I got from each of the Family Groups it seems like a lot of yall got hung up on the idea of love. What even is love? And when we talk about love in the Bible, what do we mean? This can be really hard to understand sometimes because in English, we use love in a variety of ways. For example, the following statements are all 100% true:

I love coffee.

I love my mom.

I love my wife.

I love God.

Those are all true statements, but when you think about it, I don't love coffee the same way I love my mom, and I don't love my mom the same way I love my wife, and I don't love any of them the same way I love God. So, even though I am using the same word in all of those statements (love), I mean different things each time. This is why it can be so confusing for us when we are talking about "love" in the Bible. With that in mind, let's look at the four primary words for love in Greek (Greek is the language that the New Testament was originally written in, and these four words all get translated into English as "love").

1. Storge.

Storge is best described as a "fondness of familiarity". It is a bond that comes from shared experiences and circumstances, like being in the same family. You don't get to choose your biological family, but they are still your family. Even if you don't always like them, if they come under threat most of the time you will come to their defense. So, you might call this family devotion. A common trope in media is how siblings will hate each other and get on each others nerves, but when someone else shows up and starts messing around, the siblings immediately defend each other. You might hear the phrase, "Nobody gets to mess with my little brother but me." That's the idea of storge love.

2. Eros.

This is probably the most familiar kind of love for you, because it is what we might think of as "romantic" love. This is a physical, intimate love between a husband and wife, and it is also the idea of "being in love". Eros love is the most prevalent kind of love portrayed in media, although they usually reduce it to more of a lust/passion than actual love. Regardless, most of the time when we use the word "love" in English, this is the kind of love we think about. This is also the closest we get to love being a feeling, since there is an element of feeling involved with this.

Here is the interesting part, just like we use this version of love all the time in our culture today, so too did the culture in Jesus' day when the New Testament was written. Eros love was used and talked about all the time. HOWEVER, this word doesn't get used once in the whole New Testament. Whenever the New Testament authors talk about love, they are never referring to eros love. They DO address the idea of sexuality and passion, but almost always in a context of setting proper boundaries.

3. Philos.

Philos love is the warm affection found between good friends and family members. This is an essential love for the human experience, as we are created as social beings. We need friends and positive relationships in our lives, and philos love is the expression of those relationships. Philos love goes a lot deeper than what we might call friendship, because when we think of our friendships a lot of times they are built around common interests or settings but don't go very deep. Philos-level friendships are very deep and strong bonds that hold people together. Jesus had a philos love friendship with Lazarus and His disciples. David (from the Old Testament) and Jonathan also had this kind of friendship.

Romans 12:10 - "Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor."

The underlined part there, "brotherly affection" is actually a combination of storge and philos. Paul took these two forms of love and mashed them together to describe the kind of bonds we should have with fellow believers. This is because we are not only bonded together through the shared circumstance of being part of the family of God, but we are also bonded through our shared faith in Christ and call to obedience. Its a powerful family-friendship love that we are called to have for each other as Christians. Do you love your fellow believers like this?

4. Agape.

The pinnacle of biblical love, agape love is an unconditional love. No matter the circumstances, experiences, values, behaviors, actions, words, or anything else, agape love perseveres. In the Bible, this stands out as the highest form of love. Agape love is the kind of love that God has for us. When Jesus sacrificed Himself on the cross for the sins of the world, He demonstrated agape love. No matter what we do, God still loves us (and good thing, too). We sin? God loves us. We fight against God? He still loves us. We decide to start hating God? God still loves us. No matter what the conditions are, God continues and will always love us.

John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

Guess which Greek word is used in John 3:16? That's right, agape. It doesn't say "For God was so devoted to His family..." or "For God was so in love with the world..." or "For God was such good friends with the world..." No. It says "For God so unconditionally loved the world..." He put us first, even though we didn't deserve it.

Matthew 22:37 - "Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'"

Once again, Jesus uses "agape" for the kind of love we are to have for God. We should unconditionally love God with all of our being (heart, soul, and mind). In the Mark version of this statement, Jesus includes our strength, and if you recall our discussion from last week, He set up a totem pole of priorities for us: God > everyone else > me. We are to unconditionally love God with everything we have, and then love others as well.

When we read through 1 Corinthians 13 (the famous love chapter), Paul uses agape for love throughout that passage. He isn't talking about romantic love, or friendship love, but unconditional love, and the kind of love that we are to have for others because that is the kind of love God has for us.

Now, I want to make sure we are all clear on this: when we talk about loving God, loving fellow believers, and loving those out in the world, we are not talking about eros love - the idea of being in love with someone. Biblical love has nothing to do with romance. Instead, when we talk about biblical love, we are talking about the choice we make to put others first unconditionally.

I can love others (and you) unconditionally because that is the kind of love God has for me. With my sin I have hated God, spat at Him, made fun of Him, and my sin was part of what put Him on the cross. And yet, He still loves me. Jesus still died for me. He gave me the example of what true agape love looks like, and He has called each of us to have that same kind of love for Him and for each other.

What would it look like for you to love God the way He has loved you?

What would it look like for you to love other believers unconditionally?

What would it look like for you to truly put the needs of others before your own and live like Jesus lived?