LOVE

Yesterday a friend.... Its odd using that word/term for someone you do not know personally like a friend, but its even odder to me to use the word/term acquaintance for a person. So I just always use the word 'friend'.

Anyways, I was reading a friends blog, and a sermon that I just heard came to mind, I typed all of my notes from that sermon in her comments...I hope she didn't take it wrong, or is mad at me for it. But I felt that it was relevant in her situation.

I also think its a pretty important topic for all Christians to hear. Because the way my Pastor preached it, and boy did he preach it, I had never thought of it like that.

So I'm just gonna copy and paste what I put in her blog:

Pastor Greg this past Sunday, were in a one+one series…its really good, I urge you to listen online (Week three specifically, but the other two weeks are just as good!), they are short sweet, and easy to listen because he is an amazing ‘preacher’.

Anyways this week was how to LOVE others you dislike, or even HATE. It was titled, How to LOVE others you HATE. Most important thing: We are not commanded to like others, we are commanded to LOVE them. No matter. Even when they lie, hurt, deceive, dishonor, disobey….etc…you. Something that he said: “We’re his kids and we don’t act like him” (silent room, filled with gasps….wow!) Imagine if we could vaporize anything or anyone we wanted to that bothered us or hurt us. Clear roads…Awesome! Bad boss…poof gone! Now imagine if God had one…yep. Listen to this: “Instead of vaporizing sinners or lashing out at us, God put his son on the cross for us!” (more silence and gasping)

Luke 10:25-37, Good Samaritan story. A Jewish man was in the ditch and hurt, beaten, robbed. A priest (teacher of the word of God) came through, crossed to other side of the road, ignored the injured. A Levite (preparer of things in Church) came by, same thing crossed to the other side of road, and didn’t help. A Samaritan (Jews did not like the Samaritan community, Jews can’t even bring themselves to say the word, they think they are dirty and lowlife people) came by and helped the Jew up and took him to town for help.

Question: Who is my neighbor? (commandment: love thy neighbor)
Answer: The one who had mercy on him! The one being the Samaritan, the man asking was a Jew, he couldn’t even say Samaritan, he said ‘the one’.

To love a neighbor:
1 Move towards the, on the behalf of God, get to know people you wouldn’t normally associate with.
2 Give to people, do something for the above person

‘Give to Him to give to them.’

There are three kinds of people,
-Regular average people such as family and friends. Love them.
-Regular potentially harmful people. People with addiction, alcoholics, etc. Have a cautious loving action, very clear boundaries.
-Just plain evil people. How to deal with them you ask? Attorney’s and guns. Seriously He preached that! People like Adolf Hitler. Its your civil responsibility.

Ok last thing.

We are the person in the ditch
The Priest is Religion
The Levite is the Law
The Samaritan is Jesus Christ

Powerful message isn’t it?


That's the end of my copy and paste. Paster Greg urged us to go to people this week that we woudn't normally associate with, and give to them. How about forgiving people that you have in the past hated...Or are holding grudges against?

LOVE people! LOVE!

~Carrie