Victorious Living
Win the World With Love
by Gloria Copeland
“Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.”
1 Peter 2:17
*********************
*********************
The reason we, as God’s children, are living on this earth is so that we can advance the kingdom of God. Certainly, God wants to bless us and give us wonderful lives, but if that’s all He wanted to do, He would take us to heaven the minute we made Jesus the Lord of our lives. After all, the least that heaven has to offer beats the best we have on earth.
But God left us here so we can influence others for Him. He told us to share the gospel with lost people so they can get born again. One of the most powerful ways we can do that is by simply loving them.
The love of God is one of the most evangelistic forces of all. The whole world is looking for love all the time, everywhere they go. You may not realize that if you’ve been a Christian for a while. You may almost take love for granted. I know I sometimes do. My whole family is saved, all my friends are saved, everyone I work with is saved…and since they all have the love of God flowing through them, I’m surrounded by love almost all the time.
Worldly people don’t have that experience. They’re surrounded by a selfish, dog-eat-dog society. They’re not exposed to the love of God very much, and they’re starved for it.
If you’ll just let God’s love within you flow out to them, you’ll be amazed how it will minister to them. If you’ll just honor them and respect them, treat them like they’re the most precious, valuable beings in the world, God’s love will touch them and open their hearts. Then, when you have the opportunity to share the gospel with them, they’ll be eager to hear it. They’ll be prepared and ready to receive.
In times past, the Church missed it in this area in a big way. We focused so much on the sinfulness of sinners that we began to disregard and look down on them. We developed an inner attitude of disdain toward those who were in rebellion against God and weren’t born again.
But the Bible doesn’t teach us to do that. It says we should honor all men. It says we should be like our Father who loved not just the righteous but the whole world so much, He sent Jesus to die for their sins. Even in our fallen and dishonorable state, God still saw in us the wonderful beings He created us to be. He recalled what we were before the Fall, looked through the eyes of Love, and saw, through His Redemption, what we could once again be.
When we start seeing the lost in that same light, we will love them just as He does…and that love will draw them to Him. V
BVOV : 11
