Sunday, March 1, 2009

A display of Christ or a Distortion?

God struck me with a thought today. I claim to know and love God, and I also claim to love people. But it is so easy to be impersonal as I interact with people. This is not a proper representation of Christ. In fact it is a display of my natural function rather than a supernatural interaction. Several things tell me this is true.
  1. Christ was everything but impersonal, his daily interaction with common people was marked by compassion. He paid special attention to women and children when it was not the cultural norm.
  2. John in his 1st letter states the the people of God prove their love for God by their love for people.
  3. When Jesus was asked to some up the Old Testament, he said the the we are toe Love the LORD with all of our heart, soul, and mind, furthermore we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. Then Jesus went on to qualify our neighbor as anyone, even our enemy!
  4. Finally, and most significantly Christ has displayed the personal love of God thorough becoming man and dying in the place of human beings. His crucifixion was preformed for sinners who by definition and by preference are in rebellion against God. This is a personal display of the perfect holy love of God!
James is so right when he compares the Word to a mirror. A mirror does not lie it does nor will it tell me what I want to hear. No a mirror just shows reality like it or not. The point is the mirror has shown me that my selfishness is a hindrance to love of Christ for the world. I pray that God will help me to relate to others with the grace and compassion that properly represents His love, so that He may be glorified and others might be blessed!