Episode notes
Live in the Environment of Love
Love is not merely something we occasionally practise.
It is meant to become the environment in which we live.
John makes a striking connection between loving our fellow believers and walking in the light. Hatred, bitterness and resentment do more than damage relationships; they affect our own spiritual clarity. When we allow hatred to take root, we begin walking in darkness.
Love, on the other hand, creates an environment in which people can grow.
This is why the health of a church cannot be measured only by how powerful its services are, how impressive its programmes are, or how many people attend. A healthy church must also be a place where people experience the love of Christ through one another.
People should be able to encounter patience there.
They should encounter generosity.
They should find forgiveness.
They should find correction without humiliation, truth without cruelty, and compassion without compromise.
The world should be able to look at the way Christians treat one another and see something different.
That kind of love requires consistency. We cannot hear a message about love once and assume that the matter is settled forever. Pressure can make us selfish. Competition can produce jealousy. Familiarity can make us careless. Offence can turn into bitterness.
So we return to love again and again.
We repent quickly when we walk outside it.
We choose forgiveness again.
We choose generosity again.
We choose patience again.
We choose to believe the best again.
This is what it means to build a culture of Christ's love.
As you finish this plan, do not simply ask whether you love the idea of the church. Ask whether the people around you can actually experience your love.
Let your love become something they can see.
Something they can feel.
Something they cannot deny.
Prayer
Father, let Your love become the atmosphere of my life. Help me to walk in love consistently, especially when it is difficult. Make me a person through whom others experience the kindness, patience, generosity and grace of Christ. May the way I love Your people bring glory to Jesus. Amen.