A Christian is called to love God and love people. We are empowered to do so because Christ who rendered the greatest act of love lives inside us changing our hearts to carry His love for people. So many don’t know what real love is all about. I Corinthians 13 tells us that love is patient, kind, self-less, hopeful, persevering, humble, delighting in good, and rejoicing in the truth. Love is not envious, boastful, or delighting in evil. Love is not proud and it does not keep records of wrongs. It always protects, always trusts, and always hopes. Love never fails.
Jesus taught us to love our enemies. He taught us not to return wrong for wrong. He taught us to give to those who ask. He taught us to turn the other cheek. He taught us to go the extra mile. He taught us to love our neighbors as ourselves.
He, having done no wrong, laid down his life to die for mankind to pay the debt to the justice of God and to bring about a free way of reconciliation between God and man. By His Resurrection from the dead, man can know God by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. “Faith,” meaning substantial trust in Him who we know to be our Savior. No works are required. He freely gives and we freely receive.
When we walk with Christ our lives begin to align with the superior reality of heaven. When earth aligns with heaven miracles happen and God has given His followers the ability to bring about positive changes upon this planet. We can heal the sick, cast out demons, raise the dead. We can give hope to the hopeless. We can feed the poor. We can show the love of God to a people desperate to know Him. This is the work given to the Church. This is the work of Christ in us.
The world is watching to see if our claims have value, substance, reality, and truth. We owe people an encounter with God. We carry the Kingdom of God and we must release the Kingdom to the hurting, broken, rejected, lost of this world. This is the heart of God and we must represent Him in all we say and do.
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