Love
As is so often the case, God seems to be impressing a theme upon my mind and heart through multiple sources. This is from my Daily Thought Subscription email today, January 3, 2009.
Restrictive love
The attempt to restrict the spectrum of those we have to love and serve is a pastime of Pharisees, not Christians. Yet is there not sometimes a reluctance to help people of another faith, whether animist, Buddhist or Muslim? Or at least a reluctance to serve them unless we use our aid as a lever to [pry] their hearts open to receive the gospel? Now of course we want to share the gospel with them, but unless we are motivated by genuine concern for the individual (which is clearly absent if we refuse to help him in other ways) our efforts will be worthless and even dishonouring to God. The love of Christ prompts us to share with people both our material blessings and our spiritual riches.
--From "Walk in His Shoes" (London: IVP, 1975), p. 15.
Restrictive love
The attempt to restrict the spectrum of those we have to love and serve is a pastime of Pharisees, not Christians. Yet is there not sometimes a reluctance to help people of another faith, whether animist, Buddhist or Muslim? Or at least a reluctance to serve them unless we use our aid as a lever to [pry] their hearts open to receive the gospel? Now of course we want to share the gospel with them, but unless we are motivated by genuine concern for the individual (which is clearly absent if we refuse to help him in other ways) our efforts will be worthless and even dishonouring to God. The love of Christ prompts us to share with people both our material blessings and our spiritual riches.
--From "Walk in His Shoes" (London: IVP, 1975), p. 15.
Comments