The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith. But some people have missed this whole point. They have turned away from these things and spend their time in meaningless discussions. – 1 Timothy 1:5-6
The Apostle Paul writes to Timothy, who happens to be a pastor, that his sole mission was to point followers of Jesus into the direction of love and being filled with love, through loving actions that are sincere. He says the problem is that there is always noise that gets involved that have nothing to do with anything with the mission at hand– which is to be love because God is love. Paul says that people turned away from the true purpose of coming to faith in Jesus Christ and turned it into a sideshow that happens to have Jesus as the main attraction. Sometimes, we get so wrapped up in our “Christianese” culture that we lose the importance of what it means to be in the love of Christ. I mean, just how many times have did we misappropriate an opportunity to work out our love for others through Christ with pointless meanderings of aesthetic behavioral modifications? That is to ask simply– have we ever used our knowledge, expertise and faith to engineer “good behavior” from people? Like, have we ever said something in the likeness of, “if you don’t behavior this way, then you’re going to hell!” I’m sure we have. It’s these types of actions that waste our belief in Jesus as our savior. This is what pastors should be doing: teaching people to love in an earnestly and honestly; but are we? I want to switch the conversation from pastors (professional Christians) to parents, brothers, sisters, friends and role models because the reach and instruction of a “professional” is far less effective than the influence of instruction from parents, brothers, sisters, friends and as role models. If every single Christian made their life purpose to fill other people up with the love of Jesus Christ, what kind of amazing things would we witness and encounter? Moreover, what kind of effect would we have on their lives when love pervades their being through our pure hearted intentions, clear consciences and genuinely embolden faith?
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