Transcript
Well, you probably don't need me to tell you this, but the biblical story is the most gorgeous love story ever. Again, God so loved the world. He loved the world that had turned its back on Him. He loved the world that was broken by sin. He loved the world in all of its rebellion and destructive dysfunction. He loved the world.
I Size People Up Quickly
And you see, it's hit me that as I look at people, I size up people quickly. I make judgments without even knowing them and that frees me to be discompassionate and uninvolved. It's wrong. What would it look like for you to love the people in your neighborhood like God, in Christ, has loved you, like God loved His broken, rebellious world?
Love is such an important thing and think about this. If you only love the neighbors that deserve your love all the time, you're probably not going to be loving very many people because we're flawed people living in communities of flawed people.
There's always something I can find wrong with you. There's always something I can criticize. There's always a reason for judgment and condemnation. You'll find that everywhere. How about not going there? How about saying, "I want to represent a God who is love." Think about this. The Bible doesn't just say that God loves. It says He is the sum and definition of what love is about. I've been sent out to the world to represent Him.
Now, what that actually means is looking for specific, concrete ways of loving your neighbor. How can you love that older woman who lives next to you? How can you love that family with five children who occasionally trample your rose bushes? How can you love that single guy who seems pretty angry and pretty distressed? How can you love that person who's working a minimum wage job and probably doesn't have much financial ease? How can you love? How can you represent the most beautiful love story in the world and the King of love in the neighbors that He has placed in your life.
