Friday, November 09, 2007

Love?

1 Corinthians 13:3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
I've been thinking about love this morning and this verse came up a few times in various contexts, which usually means that God is trying to get my attention about something. Our church has focused our ministry to a large extent on the poor in our community. I've appreciated that so many people at The River go well beyond just giving to the poor and actually embrace them into their lives. Over the past year, five or six families from our church have had extra people living in their homes with them.

But I wonder...what does it really mean to love people? Paul fleshes it out a little bit in 1 Cor. 13...it's patient and kind, not self-serving, doesn't boast, keeps no records of wrong, etc. But what does love look like when it is enfleshed in a community? How do we love cultivate a climate of love within a church? So often our churches are perceived as judgmental and mean. How do we change that perception and become churches that are known for their capacity to love?

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