What the World Needs

By: Kathie Welch

Wednesday, November 20, 2024

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. Ephesians 4:2-3

The cross is a visible representation of our relationship with God and with others. In his book “Face to Face”, Dr Kenneth Boa described those two relationships like this: “The quality of our vertical relationship with God has a direct bearing on the quality of our relationship with others. As we grow in His grace, we will have an enhanced capacity, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to respond to others with Christ-like qualities."

Dr. Boa's book challenges Christ followers to do three things:

1. Love God completely.
2. Love self correctly.
3. Love others compassionately.

"Loving God completely" is an ongoing process—the more we read, meditate on, and memorize Scripture... the more we speak praises, express gratitude, and lay our petitions before Him, the more we'll understand His love for us! As we begin to understand how much God loves us, we'll start to see ourselves as He sees us. Remember, your sense of worth comes from God, it isn't based on your feelings or what anyone else says about you. When we know God loves us unconditionally, dwells within us, and we're saved forever by Jesus, it should be easy to pour God's love out to others, right?

Loving others compassionately—all others—is impossible in our own human strength. Honestly, we probably won't always agree with everyone's opinions, and we may not even like being around all people. But that isn't what God is calling us to do. He calls us to love all people with a Christ-like love.

Jesus demonstrated this type of love many times as He encountered:

1. Self-righteous Pharisees (Matthew 9:10-12)
2. Unbelieving Jews (Mark 9)
3. Doubtful friends (John 20: 24-29)
4. Active Sinners (John 8:3-11)
5. Unbelieving family (John 7:5,6)
6. Mocking soldiers (Luke 23:24)

But in all those interactions, Jesus never compromised God's truth. He always responded in love, with truth. We must do likewise! Christ follower, pause and let that statement sink in... In a world filled with lies, deception, and anger, we are called to be Christ's ambassadors. He set the example, He gave the command, and He sent us His Spirit to empower us. Because God loves us, He will equip us to do all that He asks.

Nurture your relationship with God by reading and meditating on His written Word. Be open to the prompting and power of The Holy Spirit. Start seeing yourself as God sees you, then embrace His love, and pour it out to others. Be the "fragrance of Christ" to those in need, it's what our lost world needs!