Love God and Love People

"'You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.' And, 'Love your neighbor as yourself'" (Luke 10:27 NLT).

Christianity is at a crossroad. Some people are repelled by it while others are willing to give up their lives to follow Christ. In many instances, it may look like we’re on our back foot but the Bible assures us that His government and peace will have unlimited growth.

For centuries, Christians, leaders, and churches have tried to invent and reinvent the message of Christ. There’s nothing wrong discovering and growing in the knowledge of our infinite God; however, Jesus, the founder of our faith, gave us two basic commands.

The essence of Christianity is to love God and love people. 

Recently, I was visiting my brother’s family. They were returning from a worship concert when they stopped at a red light, a homeless man approached them. When they gave him a leather bag filled with medicine, toothbrush, cash, food, tracts, stationary, T-shirt, flashlight, and other basic necessities; the homeless man was dumbfounded. The first words that came out of his mouth were, “What the hell is that?” He couldn’t believe the kindness of total strangers!

I believe this is where Christianity is losing its flavor. We’ve become too private, intellectual, cynical, and judgmental of each other. People have taken advantage of us, so now we’re filtering our responses through our past experiences. This is not the best reflection of our faith.

Here’s the key: if you love God you will love people and vice versa!

In the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10), Jesus spoke about a wounded man who was bypassed by a priest and a Levite. Their reasoning may have been along the lines of he’s not part of our church, culture or faith therefore; he doesn’t qualify for our help. What if God treated us according to His high standards? Jesus crossed every creed, color, social, racial, and cultural barriers to reach people and so should we as His disciples.

Jesus taught us to love people – ALL people. It’s easier said than done but when this is our intent, the love of God has the power to transform society.

Recently, a 22-year-old Egyptian Christian woman lived out her faith in deed. Her former husband (from another faith) divorced her. After several years, she got married to a young Christian man and they had two beautiful children together. She was pregnant with their third when they decided to visit their former church to fellowship with other believers. In the city, they’re spotted by her former family members. They kidnapped her and pressed her to renounce her faith. When she refused to deny Christ, her own sister beheaded her in order to “teach a lesson” to other women who chose to follow Christianity. What would be our response in such situation?

God forbid that we have to face such brutal fate. However, there are million little ways we can impact others with the love of Christ. The scripture says, “The goodness of God leads people to repentance” (Romans 2:4).

Francis of Assisi said, “Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.”

A couple of months ago, my friend was driving home in her pickup truck when she saw a bunch of men working under the scorching sun. She was moved with compassion but didn’t have any water in her truck. She went home and brought back ice-cold water for the men working on the street. She didn’t have to preach that day because she was the Gospel.

Our action towards our fellow men is a direct reflection of our love for God.

Friend, if we want to encounter God in supernatural ways, it’s not good enough to dress in our Sunday best, clap our hands, and sing, “I love you Lord.” We have to live intentionally and love the crying, sighing, and dying people God brings on our path. Loving God means to reflect the same love Jesus showed us. When we unite in loving people, we’ll see a new move of the Holy Spirit sweeping through our nation like never before. Let us love God and Love people!

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Loving People to Jesus

“Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples" (John 13:35 NLT).

The world has become more cynical, suspicious, and void of loving one another. We’re constantly doubting, trying to second guess people’s intentions, and putting up our walls. I believe that God wants us to love one another.

Most churches have stopped teaching people to love one another. For the most part, churches are filled with “recycled Christians.” The messages from the pulpits are mostly geared to sedate the congregation and keep them from leaving. The aggressive (not obnoxious) brand of Christianity has disappeared and we’re operating on the back foot defensive position. This may sustain us for a while but we cannot win games operating from our defensive position.

Yesterday I was shopping with a visiting pastor from India. I took him to a nice store to buy him some new clothes. While shopping, I came across a tall, dark, and handsome young man trying out a suit. He looked unsure of himself. He was alone so I told him that the jacket looked a bit too tight. He went and found another one. I was just chitchatting with him while shopping around. When I asked him what the occasion for the new jacket was, he said, “I’m getting married!” I was so happy for him and congratulated him.

When we were done shopping and were checking out, I felt impressed upon my heart to bless this young man by paying for his wedding suit. My first thought was, “Get behind me Satan!” Deep in my heart I knew that the enemy would never inspire me spend hundreds of dollars to help a stranger. Thankfully this time, I was sensitive enough to obey the Holy Spirit.

I called the young man, who by now had picked up a nice suit for his big day, to the counter. I asked, “What is your name?” He said, “Ibrahim.” He greeted me with a Muslim greeting and whispered, “I’m a Muslim.” I gave him a big hug and said, “That’s ok. I’m a follower of Jesus.” I said, “Listen, I want you to know that Jesus loves you and I love you. I’m so proud of you and the new life you’re about to start together with your beautiful girl!” He promptly pulled out his wallet to proudly show me the picture of his beautiful fiancé. I said, “Ibrahim, I love you brother. I’d like to buy you this suit for your special day.” He was shocked!

 

All he could say was, “I’m floored! I’m floored!” I said, “It’s no big deal I love you and Jesus has an amazing future for your family!” He choked up and had tears in his eyes. Before we left, I prayed for him right there in the middle of the store asking Jesus to come into Ibrahim’s heart. An hour later I got a text from Ibrahim saying, “I forgot to tell you the day I’m getting married is the day of my birthday turning 30 years old. What you did for me means a lot Mr. Anderson.” He invited me to his wedding to be a part of their celebration. Ibrahim is infected by God’s love and he will never be the same again. Would you please pray for Ibrahim?

Why am I telling you this story? You see, I believe God is always bringing people into our lives —lives that we can touch and win for our Lord Jesus Christ. If we are sensitive enough to recognize God’s purpose and love on people instead of criticizing them and pointing fingers at them, we’ll live in a whole new world.

Jesus demonstrated the art of loving people. He was the only perfect Man but He never condemned anyone. He simply loved on people and the power of God’s love did the rest. Remember the Samaritan women at the well (John 4)? Jesus knew all about her lifestyle but instead of condemning her, He gently circled her in with His love. As a result, not only did she accept the Messiah but she brought the whole town to Jesus! You too can do the same.

Christianity is at its best when it’s shared!

Francis of Assisi said, “Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.” Friends, let us love people not only with our lip-service but through deeds as well. Don’t just be a consumer Christian. Let’s not go to church and warm the pews for decades. Let us get in the game and be on the offensive. If our lives are not producing fruits unto Jesus, we’ve lost our first love. Today, I’m encouraging us to tear down the walls. Let us love, trust, and believe in people. Reach out and start a dialog with your neighbor. Invite a co-worker to church. Pray with someone who is going through a rough patch. Be kind to a total stranger. When we love people, the Holy Spirit will draw them unto Jesus. I love you and I believe in you!

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