Thursday the 12th

1 John 3: 1

 

¹How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

 

 

I find it no surprise that I come to this verse this morning. I had a suspicion confirmed last night that a friend of ours just does not believe in God, in any way shape of form…..The same thought kept crossing my mind as the information was relayed to us, I thought “well, they just don’t know” They don’t know the love, the peace, the fulfillment that comes form having God in their lives. They don’t get the idea of salvation, and forgiveness that can only come from Christ. So, I look inward, what can I do, what can I say to make a difference and change this person? I always come to the same conclusion that Spurgeon did. I cannot change anyone, that is the work of the Holy Spirit. I can put the information out there, I can extend the offer, I might change a persons  mind, but I cannot change their heart. So what do we do when we are faced with people who will not listen? The only thing you can do with anyone who is convinced of something……show them otherwise. All of this talk of loving others, of serving others, this talk of loving God, and loving our neighbor as ourselves, it has a very specific purpose, it shows the world God’s love. It gives the people who do not know God a glimpse of what true love looks like. I am reminded of St. Francis of Assisi who said “go out and proclaim the Gospel of Christ to everyone; use words if you must.”  We might frame our Faith in Christ with words, but it is our actions that speak the loudest. It is easy to spot an active family member in Christ. They are the ones everyone says “man, I want some of what they got!”  Let us all strive to be that type of person. Not just because it makes us feel good (and it does), not just because it allows us to radiate God’s love onto the world (and it does), let us do it so that others who do not know God might have a chance to open their hearts to Him. Let us be the ones that people want what we have! May we all have the strength to let our actions be our words instead of trying to make our actions fit our words!

 

Peace,

Brian