Preoccupied with Approval
by Caryn Rehm
In this “I’m right – you’re wrong” society, we soooooooo need Jesus. Today it is hard to even mention “hot button” topics, related to sinful issues. Yet these are the types of issues we are constantly bombarded with, in today’s culture. When we are humans and followers of Christ, we sometimes ignore these issues because we don’t want to be under attack. We simply avoid confrontation, or worse we don’t wish to insult others, so we accept actions that are counter to Biblical truth. We don’t need to accept these actions. We are free to share the truth of Christ with others. We can do this in a loving way. A loving way does not include the approval or acceptance of behavior Christ tell us is wrong. A loving way is caring for others, in whatever way we can, while still living out the truth of Scripture. 1 Peter 2:15 (NIV) “For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people.” It’s hard. It’s super hard. To care for others in such a way, we will need to be in situations where we see the results of a non-biblical culture. This is painful. It is painful to see people captive to their sin and to see people believe that this sin brings them joy and fulfills their desires. Who would choose to be in such an environment? Well, Jesus. A friend to sinners. Did He approve of their sins? No, but He died for them just the same. What kind of love is this? What did they do to deserve this love? What did we do to deserve this love? Nothing. He freely gave it. He freely gives it. That’s the answer. That is what we are called to share. The love of Jesus. 100% of sinners have a void in their lives that they are trying to fill. It can ONLY be filled with Jesus, and He will fill it 100%.
Call To Action
Pray that when we are faced with the opportunity to give our opinions – we first give our Jesus, to shut the mouths of scoffers and silence the opinions of sheep.
“Remember, our job as Christians is not primarily to protest, but to proclaim.” – Bob Briner, Roaring Lambs: A Gentle Plan to Radically Change Your World
1 Corinthians 16:14 (NIV) “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.”
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