This new series aligns with the 40 Days of Community program which Clayton Church is pursuing as a church-wide initiative.
The topic for today is that we are compelled to love God’s family because it is a witness to the world. Today’s point to ponder is that “The whole world is watching how we love one another.” The key bible verse is from John 13:35:
Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.
The question to consider is:
How loudly do your actions speak about the love of God? How loud is the voice of your small group?
In previous posts, I stopped short of linking these particular point into their topics, because I sensed that it would be addressed separately as it is here. The point here is focused outwardly which is a big part of the holistic topic on the love of God. In order for God’s love to be fully expressed we cannot stay inwardly focused for too long since Jesus’ command is for us to love one another, which is highly inclusive. That Christians became exclusive in our attitude and behavior to exclude various groups and people from the Kingdom is actually misaligned to this calling.
The same point here can be associated with the earlier discussion on showing God’s love consistently to everyone. Being consistent to both believers and non-believers helps Christians to avoid the hypocrisy that tends to be witnessed by the world. Often, it is this hypocrisy that creates barriers and stumbling blocks for non-believers in their journey to knowing Christ. In part, it is difficult because our human tendency is naturally conducive to looking at each other. The challenge for Christians is to always look to Jesus as the perfect model and example, and not ourselves. When we look at our fellow Pastors and Ministers, there remains a possibility that we will end up placing our hope in man and NOT God. When Jesus is the centre of our faith and inspiration and example for love, then we should become careful with the way we interact with people around us.
When considering how loudly my actions speak about the love of God, I think about how direct and overt my actions are. In truth, I think my actions are not always direct or overt in proclaiming God’s love, but then again, I believe it is not consistent with the nature of God and His character to boast of His love. After all, Jesus proclaimed that blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth. I like to think that God sees and knows my heart as I serve in church and community. As a life-group leader I always encourage my life-group members to look outside and beyond the immediate group. We always look fondly on the former group that subsequently multiplied into the present two groups as one way to network beyond the single life-group. Further, with a number of members attending multiple groups, this in itself ensures that we always have a outward focus.
When we extrapolate the principle to my life-group I would like to think that we operate well as a team in showing and living God’s love for one another but more importantly to others outside of the group. Sometimes, that means being away from the group to spend time with others and sowing God’s love into their lives, but we understand and encourage this behavior. In fact, we encourage the members to share their stories and testimonies of these opportunities so we can join and support the individual as they go out to bear witness to a God’s love.
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