What Every Warrior Needs to Hear!
Monday, January 27, 2020
Sunday, January 26, 2020
Saturday, January 25, 2020
Reflita
Compilação
O Novo Testamento fala sobre o uso de nossa mente durante todo o processo da conversão para o cristianismo, crescimento e obediência. O assunto é mencionado pelo menos dez vezes no Livro dos Atos. Lucas diz que a estratégia de Paulo era “dialogar” com as pessoas para tentar convertê-las e ajudá-las a crescer na fé.[1] E Paulo disse aos CorÃntios que preferiria falar cinco palavras com a sua mente de modo a instruir outros do que dez mil palavras em lÃnguas.[2] …
Em 2 Timóteo 2:7 ele diz: “Reflita no que estou dizendo, pois o Senhor lhe dará entendimento em tudo”. A interpretação deste versÃculo difere bastante entre as pessoas. Algumas salientam o trecho “reflita no que estou dizendo”, enfatizando a questão de pensar e racionalizar, sem, no entanto, dar a devida importância à participação sobrenatural de Deus em capacitar a mente a ver e aceitar a verdade. Outras enfatizam a segunda parte do versÃculo, “pois o Senhor lhe dará entendimento em tudo”, salientando que raciocinar sem o insight divino não adianta para nada. “O Senhor lhe dará entendimento”.
Paulo, porém, não se deixa dividir nessa questão. Ele não diz ou um ou outro, mas ambos. “Reflita no que estou dizendo, pois o Senhor lhe dará entendimento em tudo…” A orientação é que devemos pensar no que ele diz; usar nossa mente e capacidade de raciocÃnio ao ouvirmos a palavra de Deus.
Jesus advertiu sobre o que acontece se não o fizermos, e a bênção que recebemos se o fizermos. Na parábola sobre as sementes nos diferentes tipos de solo Ele diz: “Quando alguém ouve a mensagem do Reino e não a entende, o Maligno vem e lhe arranca o que foi semeado em seu coração”.[3] Entender com a mente não é opcional, pois nossa vida depende disso. Sobre a semente que caiu em boa terra, Ele diz: “Este é aquele que ouve a palavra e a entende, e dá uma colheita de cem, sessenta e trinta por um”.[4]
É isso mesmo, devemos usar a nossa mente; exercitar o raciocÃnio durante o processo de proclamar, explicar e confirmar o Evangelho. É indispensável batalharmos pela fé confiada aos santos.[5]
Conforme usamos nosso poder mental renovado em favor de Cristo, devemos orar, como Paulo, para que o EspÃrito Santo esteja presente na pregação do Evangelho e que o Deus que disse, “das trevas resplandeça a luz” atue no coração dos que ouvem e “brilhe em nossos corações, para iluminação do conhecimento da glória de Deus na face de Cristo”. Só assim será criado o verdadeiro cristão que “considera tudo como perda, comparado com a suprema grandeza do conhecimento de Cristo Jesus, meu Senhor”. —John Piper[6]
Amando a Deus com nossa mente
Jesus disse que devemos amar Deus “com todo o coração, com toda a alma e com toda a mente.”[7] Observe que não se referiu somente ao coração e à alma, mas também à mente. Deus concedeu faculdades mentais aos seres humanos. Criou-nos capazes de raciocÃnio, crescimento intelectual, pensamento crÃtico e inferências. Além disso, dotou-nos da consciência como guia para fazermos as escolhas moralmente corretas.
O apóstolo Paulo disse, “Algumas pessoas pensam que certos dias são mais importantes do que outros, enquanto que outras pessoas pensam que todos os dias são iguais. Cada um deve estar bem firme nas suas convicções.”[8] E, no mesmo discurso, adicionou: “O que não se baseia na fé é pecado”.[9] Ele estava ensinando a importância de explorarmos nossas crenças para determinarmos o que acreditamos ser certo e errado com respeito à s coisas. Analisar, discutir e debater doutrinas pode proporcionar exercÃcios saudáveis para a fé, pois exigem que nos aprofundemos nas nossas crenças e encontremos a fundação escritural que as sustenta.
Obviamente, o uso de nossas faculdades mentais e do raciocÃnio crÃtico não tem a finalidade de enfraquecer a fé. Apesar de ser o que acontece em alguns casos, em outros, a reflexão propositada sobre o que acreditar fortalece a fé. A diferença está na abordagem escolhida para o processo de questionamento. Paulo, Santo Agostinho, Martinho Lutero, C.S. Lewis e muitos outros grandes pensadores cristãos usaram a razão e a lógica para fortalecerem a fé própria, dos demais e ampliar o entendimento da doutrina, ajudando a formatar a fé e os pontos de vista intelectuais do cristianismo.
Podemos usar nossas habilidades intelectuais para glorificar Deus e afirmar nossa fé, assim como quaisquer outros recursos e talentos que Ele nos deu. Podemos usar nossas mentes para amar mais a Deus, segundo a instrução de Jesus, e usar nossas habilidades intelectuais para encontrar o lugar que Ele designou para nós neste mundo, ampliando nossos conhecimentos, compreensão da humanidade e muito mais. Como acontece com as demais dádivas que nos concede, Deus espera que invistamos nossas habilidades mentais para gerar benefÃcios para nós mesmos e para os outros.—Maria Fontaine
A importância de amar a Deus com a nossa mente
O mundo criado por Deus é real e é bom. Fomos criados à semelhança de Deus com a capacidade de raciocinar, sentir e agir. Fomos também criados para reagir a um Deus real, a pessoas de verdade, e ter domÃnio sobre a natureza. Fomos criados para responder à realidade. O pecado sem dúvida distorce nossa percepção da realidade; nosso conhecimento é limitado, no entanto, temos como discernir objetivamente o que é bom, verdadeiro e real.
Deus nos concedeu a habilidade de saber por um propósito. Em Mateus 22:37, Cristo nos pede para amarmos a Deus de todo o nosso coração, de toda a nossa alma, e de todo o nosso entendimento. Infelizmente, a mente é desvalorizada não apenas na cultura, mas, surpreendentemente, até mesmo na igreja.
Alguns talvez pensem que é possÃvel amar a Deus demais com a mente. Eu, porém, acho que é possÃvel amar pouco a Deus com o coração ou a alma.
2 CorÃntios 10:5 diz que devemos “Destruir argumentos e toda pretensão que se levanta contra o conhecimento de Deus”, e “levar cativo todo pensamento, para torná-lo obediente a Cristo”. A primeira parte deste versÃculo enfatiza mais a tarefa negativa ou crÃtica de refutar objeções à fé ou a sistemas alternativos de pensamento. A segunda parte salienta a tarefa positiva de levar cativo todo pensamento a Cristo…
É importante notar que o conhecimento bÃblico engloba mais do que o aspecto cognitivo; envolve intimidade e responsabilidade.
A palavra hebraica para conhecimento é yatha, a mesma usada em Gênesis quando diz que Adão conheceu sua esposa. Esse conhecimento com certeza ultrapassa a intimidade sexual. No Salmo 1:6 diz que, “o Senhor conhece o caminho do justo”. O nosso conhecimento leva à intimidade pessoal com Deus.
É interessante notar que a palavra grega para “ouvir” é akuo, e “obedecer” é hupakuo—que significa literalmente “ouvir intensamente”, ou prestar bem atenção. Portanto, ouvir com atenção é obedecer. Alguns ouvem, mas não entendem, assim como alguns veem, mas não percebem. Não é de admirar que aqueles que redigiram a BÃblia muitas vezes dizem: “Aquele que tem ouvidos para ouvir, ouça”. Uma coisa é deixar uma verdade entrar por um ouvido e sair pelo outro, diferentemente de deixar a palavra de Deus entrar nos seus ouvidos, passar para o seu coração e atuar por meio de seus membros.
Vamos nos dedicar a conhecer intimamente Deus de maneira que o resultado seja desfrutarmos dEle e O glorificarmos (sentimento), trabalhando alegremente na obra do Seu reino (ação).—Art Lindsley[10]
Publicado no Âncora em janeiro de 2020.anchor.tfionline.com
The Life of Prayer!
The life of prayer can be one of excitement, because you never know how great the results of your prayers will be. Such little time invested, with such monumental outcomes! Something so little as prayer can be multiplied over and over in the lives of the people you pray for.
As you put forth your efforts and investment of time in prayer and you call on My Spirit to intervene in situations and influence the hearts and lives of people, it comes back to you in the form of joy, answers, healing, open doors, supply, and on and on it goes.
Part of availing yourself of My promises of the power of prayer is being proactive in your prayers. Commit the needs, goals, and progress of the future to Me in full faith, knowing that I will hear your every prayer and the answers will come at just the right moment, when they are most needed.
What better preparations could you make for any project, program, or achievement than to commit every detail, advance preparations, and outcome to Me? In doing so, you are placing your trust in Me to prepare the way in advance, in the way that I know will be best before you even get there. Instead of being “reactive” to situations as they happen, you can be thinking, planning, praying, and committing them to Me in advance.
There are many times that you will pray reactive prayers, as you respond to the everyday problems, challenges, and situations that arise. But if you commit time to praying proactively, you will open your heart and mind to what lies ahead and what is needed to resolve issues before they become problems.
When you pray proactively you project yourself into the future, and as you do this, I’m able to speak to your heart about what you should pray for. What do you want to see Me do in your life, ministry, and work? What answers to prayer are needed in order to make progress? What progress is needed in your life and relationships with others? Where do you want to be in the future, what have I called you to do? Think ahead, pray about it, project into the future, and then keep praying as I continue to guide you step by step.
It’s never too soon to start praying for something. As you pray in advance, you’ll find the path before you will be clearer, and you’ll be better prepared for the problems and challenges you will face.
Prayers that are full of faith for the future begin the work that is needed to pave the way—setting up events, changing hearts, lives, and minds; organizing logistics. By the time you personally arrive in that future, the most important work has been done, and you can do your part to walk through the doors that are standing wide open for you due to the prayers you sent ahead of time.
Do you like to be prepared? Are you the kind of person who likes to think and plan ahead so that things run smoothly? If so, take those desires for organization and smooth running and translate them into proactive prayers. Don’t just think, pray! Turn your thoughts into proactive prayers. Define the need, claim it in prayer‚ and count it done.
A relationship, not a ritual
When My disciples came to Me and said, “Lord, teach us to pray,” I gave them a model prayer, an example to follow so that they could pray. I didn’t do all the praying for them. So likewise you also must learn to pray without ceasing and to seek My face, and I will answer and speak to your hearts.
In My love for you I answer your prayers and I give you the guidance you seek. It pleases Me that you seek Me. Continue in all your ways to seek Me, and I will lead and guide you and manifest My love to you. I love to lead, guide, and instruct you, so that we can walk together and you can be My hands, My heart, My eyes, and My love to those around you.
So pray without ceasing! Keep the prayer fires burning! Difficult situations require more earnest prayers, and sometimes you must keep fanning the flame, keep fueling the fire, so that it won’t go out. Keep the fires burning until the desired results are met.
Be earnest and fervent, not rigid in your prayers or formal and stiff. Come to Me with enthusiasm and fervor. I seek a relationship with you, not a ritual. I want your heart and your love!
Hope for the future
Take time to meditate on My unfailing Love. For I am your God forever and ever; I will be your Guide even to the end. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you meditate on My loving Presence—to bring your mind back to Me whenever it wanders. Encourage yourself with the words of the patriarch Jacob: “Surely the Lord is in this place.” Rejoice that I am your God forevermore—today, tomorrow, and throughout all eternity.
I am also your Guide. It is easy to be spooked by the future when you forget that I am leading you each step along your life-path. Ever since you trusted Me as Savior, My guiding Presence has been available to you. I am training you to be increasingly aware of Me as you go about your daily activities.
You can draw near to Me at any time simply by whispering My Name. Later, when you have more time, bring Me your prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. Relax in the wondrous assurance that I am your Guide even to the end.
Christian hope is strongly linked to My Presence—which is with you now and throughout eternity. So the more aware you are of My Presence, the more hopeful you will feel. Even though you believe that I am with you always, there may be times when you feel distant from Me. This diminishes your hopefulness.
Do not hesitate to ask for My help. For instance, you can simply pray, “Jesus, keep me aware of You.” This prayer is so short and simple that you can use it as often as needed.
Sometimes you limp through a day feeling empty and alone. But I say to you at such times, “You do not have because you do not ask.”
Hoping in Me is the most realistic way to live because of who I am. Since I am the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, nothing can thwart My promises. As you marvel at how great, glorious, and trustworthy I am, your praises will fill you with hope—and with rich awareness of My Presence.1
Published on Anchor January 2020. anchor.tfionline.com
1 Sarah Young, Jesus Today (Thomas Nelson, 2012
Friday, January 24, 2020
Thursday, January 23, 2020
Think It Over!
The New Testament speaks of the use of our minds everywhere in the process of Christian conversion and growth and obedience. For example, at least ten times in the book of Acts, Luke says that Paul’s strategy was to “reason” with people in his effort to convert them and build them up.1 And Paul said to the Corinthians that he would rather speak five words with his mind to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.2 …
In 2 Timothy 2:7, he says, “Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.” So many people swerve off the road to one side of this verse or the other. Some stress “think over what I say.” They emphasize the indispensable role of reason and thinking. And they often minimize the supernatural role of God in making the mind able to see and embrace the truth. Others stress the second half of the verse: “And the Lord will give you understanding in everything.” They emphasize the futility of reason without God’s illumining work. “The Lord will give you understanding.”
But Paul will not be divided this way. He says: not either-or, but both-and. “Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.” ... Paul commands us to think about what he says. Use your mind. Engage your reasoning powers when you hear the word of God.
Jesus warned of what happens if we don’t and what blessing may come if we do. In the parable of the soils, he said concerning the seed sown on the path: “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart.”3 Understanding with the mind is not optional. Our lives hang on it. And concerning the seed sown on good soil, he says, “This is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”4 …
So yes, we must use our minds. We must exercise our reason in the proclamation and explanation and confirmation of the gospel. We must contend for the faith once delivered to the saints.5… That is indispensable.
But as we use all our renewed mental powers for Christ, we must pray with Paul that the Holy Spirit would attend the preaching of the gospel and that the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” would shine in the hearts of our hearers to give “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” Only when that happens will true Christians be created who say, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”—John Piper6
Loving God with our minds
Jesus said that we are to love God “with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind.”7 Notice that He didn’t just refer to our heart and soul, but also to our mind. God gave human beings mental faculties. He created us to be intellectual beings, capable of rational thought, intellectual growth, critical thinking, and reasoning. He also gave us a conscience to guide us in making choices that are morally right.
The apostle Paul said, “One person considers some days to be more sacred than others, while another person considers all days to be the same. Each person must have their own convictions.”8 Paul also said in that same discourse, “If you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning.”9 The point he was making is that it’s important we each explore our beliefs to determine where our faith lies on various issues. Analyzing, discussing, and debating points of doctrine can be healthy for your faith, as those all require you to research, dig deep, and find the scriptural foundation for your beliefs.
Using our mental faculties and critical, rational thinking is not meant to undermine our faith, of course, but it can. Some people do reason themselves out of their faith. But for others, critical, rational thinking serves to strengthen their faith. It depends on how the person goes about the questioning process. Paul, Saint Augustine, Martin Luther, C. S. Lewis, and many other great Christian thinkers used reasoning and logic to strengthen their and others’ faith and understanding of doctrine, as well as to help shape the faith and intellectual viewpoints of Christianity.
We can use our intellectual abilities to glorify God and to affirm our faith, just as we can use any of the other skills and talents He has given us. We can use our minds to better love God, as Jesus told us to do. We can also use our intellectual abilities to find the place He has for us in this world, to further our education and understanding of the world, and more. As is the case with all gifts from His hand, He expects us to use the mental abilities He has given us, to invest them wisely, and to allow them to benefit ourselves and others.—Maria Fontaine
Why loving God with all your mind matters
The world God created is real and good. We are created in God’s image with a capacity to reason, feel, and act. We are also created to respond to a real God, respond to real people, and exercise dominion over a real creation. We are created to respond to reality. Sin certainly does distort our perception of reality, and we have limits on the extent of our knowledge; but there is nevertheless that which is true, good, and real objectively, and we can know it, at least in part.
The God-given ability to know is for a purpose. In Matthew 22:37, Christ calls us to love God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, and with all of your mind. Unfortunately, not only is the mind devalued within the culture but also surprisingly within the church.
Perhaps some think that you can love God too much with your mind. Yet, can you love God too much with your heart or soul? I think not. The problem is not loving God too much with your mind but, perhaps, loving God with your heart and soul too little.
In 2 Corinthians 10:5, we are called to “destroy speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God” and “take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” The first part of this verse emphasizes a more negative or critical task of refuting objections to faith or alternative systems of thought. The second part stresses a positive task of taking every thought captive to Christ…
It is important to note that biblical knowing involves more than mere cognition. It involves intimacy and responsibility.
The Hebrew word for knowing is Yatha. When Genesis speaks of Adam knowing his wife, it uses this word. This knowing is certainly more than sexual intimacy. In Psalm 1:6, it says that “the Lord knows the way of the righteous.” … Our knowing is to lead to personal intimacy with God.
It is also interesting that the Greek word for “hear” is Akuo, while the Greek word for “obey” is Hupakuo—which literally means “to hyper hear” or really hear. So, to really hear is to obey. There are those who hear yet fail to understand. There are those who see yet don’t perceive. No wonder the biblical writers often say, “Him who has an ear to hear, let him hear.” It is one thing to allow a truth to go into one ear and out the other. It is another to allow God’s word to go into your ear, down into your heart, and out into your hands and feet.
Let’s dedicate ourselves to the study of intimately knowing God in a way that results in enjoying and glorying him (feeling) and happily laboring in the work of his kingdom (doing).—Art Lindsley10
Published on Anchor January 2020. https://anchor.tfionline.com/post/think-it-over/
Tuesday, January 21, 2020
The Father and the Lost Sons
There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, “Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.” And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country.1
This extraordinary request by the younger son would have shocked and scandalized the original listeners. The son was asking to receive the portion of the inheritance that he would normally receive upon his father’s death, while his father was still alive and healthy. By doing this, he was essentially severing ties with his father. The listeners would have most likely expected Jesus’ next words to tell of how the father exploded in anger and disciplined his son.
Instead, the father acquiesced and divided the property between the sons. The younger son wanted to sell his inheritance for cash, and in doing so, he was showing no concern for his father’s future and was depriving him of a portion of the fruit of the land that was his due in his old age.
The older brother, who also received his portion of the inheritance at this time, received possession of the remaining land but not control of it. As the story continues, it becomes clear that the father was still head of the household and the farm, as he says later in the parable to the older son, All that is mine is yours—since the older son would own and control everything when the father died.
The younger son’s misfortunes
Jesus then tells what happens to the younger son: The younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need.2
Upon leaving his father’s house, the younger son went on to live a life which can be described as wild and disorderly, resulting in the loss of all that he had. After he had spent all his funds, a famine arose. In times like that, very little work would have been available.
So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.3
The original listeners would have understood to what depths he had sunk by his job of feeding pigs. Pigs were considered unclean according to the law, and later Jewish writings stated that anyone raising swine was cursed. To make matters worse, he was starving and envious of the pigs’ food. It was at this point that he “came to himself.”
But when he came to himself, he said, “How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.’”4
The son came to his senses and decided to return to his father, to confess he was wrong and had sinned. Recalling that his father’s “hired servants” had enough to eat, he planned to ask his father to treat him as a hired servant. As such, he would no longer have the status of a son. The speech the son planned to deliver to his father included a confession of guilt, “I have sinned”; an admission to destroying his relationship with his father, “I am not worthy to be called your son”; and a suggestion of a solution, “treat me as a hired laborer.”
The homecoming
And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.”5
The son had shamed his father before the whole village. It would only be just and right for the father to let the son come to him, walking through the village facing the disapproving stares of the community. But no, the father, full of compassion, runs to him, something which dignified older men never did in public. To do so, he would have to pull up his robe and expose his legs, which would have been considered shameful in the culture of the day. The father’s first action is to embrace and kiss his son, before he even hears what his son has to say.
And the son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But the father said to his servants, “Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet.”6
The son begins his practiced speech, but the father doesn’t let him finish. The father, hearing the son express that he isn’t worthy to be called a son, doesn’t need to hear any more. He orders his servants to clothe the son in the best robe, to put a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet. Through these actions the father conveyed the message that he was reconciled with his son.
Besides conveying a message to the servants and the community, there was a strong message to the son as well. That message was forgiveness. The welcome of the father was an act of undeserved grace. It was forgiveness. Nothing the son could do would make up for his past. The father didn’t want the lost money; he wanted his lost son.
“And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate.”7 Preparing such a large animal for a feast implies that likely most if not all of the village would be invited to the feast. And the father exclaimed his joyous reason for feasting: “For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.” And they began to celebrate.8
The older son
Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, “Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.” But he was angry and refused to go in.9
The older son, at the end of the workday, returned from the field after the festivities had started. On finding out the reason for the feast and that his father had welcomed the younger son back home, he was furious. The custom at such a feast would be for the older son to move among the guests, as part of his responsibilities as joint host with his father. But the older brother breaks with protocol and instead publicly refuses to enter the house and the festivities, and then argues with his father in public.
His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, “Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!”10
Risking humiliation and shame in the eyes of his guests, the father leaves the party in order to plead with his son to join in the celebration. The son’s response is filled with disrespect, bitterness, resentfulness, and the truth of how the older son sees his relationship with his father.
How does the father react? Exactly the same as he did with his other lost son—in love, kindness, and mercy. He says: “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.”11
His older son, like his younger, has a broken relationship with him which the father desires to repair. Both sons need reconciliation and restoration with their father. Both sons receive the same love from the father, love given in humility.
The father’s last statement expresses his joy that the younger son who was lost is now found. “It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.”12 The listener was left to imagine whether the older brother who was also lost would be found and restored, as we are not told the older son’s response.
This parable tells us something beautiful about God, our Father. He is full of compassion, grace, love, and mercy. Like the father in the story, He lets us make our own decisions, and no matter what those decisions are and wherever they may lead us, He loves us. He wants each one who has wandered away, who is lost, who has a broken relationship with Him, to come home. He waits for them and welcomes them with great joy and celebration.
That’s God’s attitude toward every person. He deeply loves and desires an unbroken relationship with each one. He searches out the lost and greatly rejoices when they come home. He welcomes them with open arms, no matter who they are or what they’ve done. He forgives, He loves, He welcomes. As the old hymn says, “Come home, come home, ye who are weary come home.”
Each person is deeply loved by the Father. Jesus laid down His life for every person. We are called to share that news with others. And to do it, we, like Jesus, need to seek them out, make the effort to reach them, and share the message that God loves them and wants to be in relationship with them. God is gracious, full of love and mercy. He loves each person and has called us, as His representatives, to do as Jesus did—to show unconditional love, to love the unlovely, and seek out those who are lost, to help restore them, and to respond with joy and celebration when that which was lost is found.
Originally published January 2015. Excerpted and republished January 2020.
