Rev. Ray and Pat Amos
Demonstrating God’s Love for Each Other
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8
One of the greatest challenges that today’s church faces is to know how to hold steadfastly to our convictions while at the same time, love those who do not agree with us. Jesus is our greatest example of this very thing; it is the very heartbeat of the Gospel. The Bible says that while we were yet sinners, Christ loved us. We all take our turn with sin, and we all have enough failure that we should be thankful for mercy and grace; If He can love us, shouldn’t we love one another?
“I have this against you: you have abandoned the love you had at first.” (Revelation 2:4) Those were the words that Jesus spoke to the church at Ephesus. It was not that they had lost their love for God, but that in their zeal to be right they became wrong. The apostle Paul once wrote to this same church thanking God for the love they had for all the saints (Ephesians 1:15).
The church had faithfully refused to go along with things that were not true to their faith, and the Lord commended them for it. Their problem was that they had not learned how to hold their ground while at the same time keep a spirit of love for each other.
We live in changing and challenging times. Christians today must know two things: First, The Bible and its Author; and then, how to hold fast to the truth in love. Jesus told the people at Ephesus to repent and return to their first love. If they did not, He would remove their candle. (The candle is symbolic for the church, and its flame is our witness). No matter how right we think we are; if we do not have love we have no true witness for Christ. “NO LOVE” means “NO CHURCH.”
“God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!” Romans 5:8. He never compromised anything that was holy, and yet, His love never failed.
Grace and Peace, Rev Ray
Link to YouTube Video – Loving God, Loving Each Other
