Wednesday, 11 November 2009

  • Everything Comes Down To Love

    There are two extremes in Christianity. One is the side that says that all of Christianity is about love, and the other side, although claiming to love people, hates anyone who doesn't bend to their every standard and rule. I'd like to think of myself as somewhere in the middle, but if I were to lean to one side, which I do, it is the side that is all about love.

    What people seem to be missing is the trinity, the three in one, God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost. Each have a different role to play, yet each one is part of the big picture that many seem to be missing. Christianity involves love, death, life, eternity, war, peace, prosperity, poverty, judgment, forgiveness and many other things, but the human part of the whole picture is confined to one fraction of the universal picture.

    God is the judge of all things; He makes it clear that vengeance is His and promises to repay those who deserve repercussions. Jesus is the example for the humans. He was the one aspect of God that became a human and was tempted in all the ways a human is tempted. He is the aspect of the trinity that applies directly to us and He is the one we should be mirroring our lives after. God can bring wars upon countries and judge those who have done wrong, because he is just in every way, but as humans, that is not our job. Jesus, as the human example of God, showed only love and compassion while He was here on the earth. Even in the few instances where Jesus rebuked people, it was never in a malicious or antagonistic way, he had a true love for people, no matter what they had done or were doing.

    In a world that is getting colder and more cruel every day, as we watch people kill each other in senseless violence, children starving for food, while rich men do nothing, and countries rise up against each other, what truly shines brightest is love. Many people think harsh brutality, and snide remarks will get people to come to church, but what really shines as a beacon through the darkness is the one thing that the world lacks the most of. Love is the one thing that is different, and therefore stands out as something to take notice of, in this dark place we live.

    So if I were to be asked if Christianity was all about love, I would say no it is not, but the human aspect of it is. God can judge people according to His plan, but the human race was never given the right to judge each other. We were only commanded two things. Love the Lord thy God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself.

    What are some situations in your life where you need to apply Christian love? 

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Comments (16)

  • gmx0@xanga
    As we say in Fundamentalist Baptist circles: 'There must be a balance-in love and judgement, truth and unity, mercy and holiness, serving and knowing God'. An extreme is bad. Some have unity but have compromised truth. Some preach love without judgement. This must not be so.
  • LoBornlyte@xanga

    There are two extremes in Christianity. One is the side that says that all of Christianity is about love, and the other side, although claiming to love people, hates anyone who doesn't bend to their every standard and rule.


    Actually this is not the case at all.  The Church has always sought the moderate middle ground.  This means that yes, there are the doctrines of Christianity that are non-negotiable.  But is the purpose of Christian doctrines to support the human being in his spiritual, intellectual and material life.


    That people choose to believe extremes is not a reflection Christianity, but a reflection on how people can lay waste to the Gospel of Jesus.
  • Fliz@xanga

    Great post!  One of the best I've ever seen on Revelife.  I totally agree.
  • LauraG0929@xanga

    Wow, I totally agree with you. Thank you for writing this post. I have definitely had my share of bad experiences with the church and with "Christian" people in general. I wish more people had your mindset.


    I was raised in the church...as a preachers kid. I was held very tightly when I was young by my family and my parents were extremely strict. As I got older I started to think more outside the box, which seems to never be taken very well when it comes to conservative churches. Long story short I ended up leaving the church and all of my friends and my entire family "withdrew" themselves from me. I'm not sure if you're familiar with the term or not, but they basically decided that they couldn't be my family anymore, they wouldn't even eat with me and the only time they would allow themselves to see me was if they were shoving their religion down my throat. They posted my address and my phone number up at their church and I got tons of literal hate mail going on and on about how I was nothing but a disappointment to my family and how I was going straight to hell. It was a very hard time for me...I grew up with these people. I did make a lot of bad choices during that time, but I felt like they should have been supporting and less judgmental...but sometimes it seems like that is simply asking too much from Christians which is really sad.
  • Pashe@xanga

    Good post, but I am nowhere in the middle. When I look at the mystics and prophets I don't see them being anywhere in the middle. They were all about G-d's love. I am one of those that believe it is all about love. I am grateful for those streams within the church that support that and I hope that the moderates and the more legalistic folks will one day understand and experience the depths of that love. I hope to one day as well. Honestly I kind of feel like there is a lot of fear associated with loving that deeply and with so little restraint. I honestly think that people are scared to learn the wisdom behind that. The world won't change until a spiritual awakening happens, until we know how loved we are and until we give that love to other people.

    But I think that God brings wars or allows them because he wants us to be more loving. War is seldom the end in and of itself. As the biblical narratives and stories illustrate we see that in Amos God brings war to illustrate how twisted mankind has become and it is his hope that they will learn to love and respect our neighbors. I think that Christians get it wrong when they focus on his justice at the expense of his love. Remember mercy triumphs over judgement. That is the central core (along w/ making us joint heirs, one with God...) of Christ's redemptive work.

    So yes God is just but I am just grateful that his mercy triumphs over his justice. I am grateful that his love is greater than his anger and even his anger is an element of his divine love for us.

    p
  • too_pretty_to_die@xanga

    i'm reminded of my mother's parenting method.  rather than making any topic whatsoever off-limits or telling me to do things just because she said so, she provided rational reasons for why i should behave a certain way.  after all, you can't rebel if there's nothing to rebel from.  rather than being judgmental, she laid down each rule with the reasoning that it truly was what was best.  and they were always up for debate.  as a result, i didn't do most horrible things that kids my age did.  
  • missmorose@xanga

    I agree. People start pulling the "youre going to hell if you dont come to church" card. Thats the wrong idea to convey to non believers. And I love what you said about everything. Good job!
  • myfanwe@xanga

    When I first came to believe in the Christian message they sung the hymn that night "Just As I Am"

            "Just as I am and waiting not, to rid my soul of one dark blot..."

    Nowadays it seems the message has changed and you are expected to clean your life up first and *then* come to church because heaven forbid that we allow *sinners* into our midst.

    It's very sad, and has caused me to divorce the church. I still cling to God, but the church is not a safe place to be for me.
  • myfanwe@xanga

    Oh, I forgot to answer your question: Where I need to apply Christian love is in replying "God bless you," when everything in me just wants to rant against the judgment I receive.
  • KriZaA@xanga

    I agree with your post. And I have always hold the view of Christianity being about love because the bible says God is Love. If we dont love, we dont really know God do we. Love is powerful in many ways.
  • china_doll26@xanga

    good post.. :)
  • TheSutraDude@xanga

    Great post and very clearly put. I'll just add one thing. Love is not only a Christian thing. I'm a Buddhist but I also understand this is meant to be a Christian website. I snuck in here one day when nobody was looking.  :)
  • nidan@xanga

    Great post!


    I so dislike the republican Jesus who taught strict adherence to the new rules that replaced the rule in the old testament. He only cared about making rules to follow and judging anyone who could not follow them.


    I prefer the Yeshua of the scripturs who taught that "Whoever is first in this world will be last in his kingdom, and whoever is last in this world will be first in his kingdom"


    I prefer the Yeshua of the scripturs who taught that the second greatest commandment is to love your neighbor as you love yourself, then he likened that to the greatest commandment "To love God." Then John carried it even further in his first epistle by saying that loving your brother was the same as loving God.


    I prefer the Yeshua of the scripturs who taught that  "Blessed are the meek", Not "Blessed are the vast corporate empires", not the "privileged few", and certainly not the televangelists. "Blessed are the meek."

  • subSacred@xanga

    Although I agree with the statement "everything comes down to love", I think the biggest problem is that lots of people take the liberty to define love as they see fit, so such a statement can mean anything.

    It can be very loving to tell someone they are wrong, it can be very loving to "judge" (yes we are actually given the right to judge using God's Word), it can be very loving to do or say things that people don't like or approve of.

     I understand that people have been wrongfully bombarded by hateful, angry, threatening presentations of the "gospel", and much of today's emphasis on warm-fuzzy-make-people-happy-love is a counteraction to that. But that kind of comfortable people pleasing love isn't what Christ demonstrated nor is it what He taught.

    Perfect love can be demonstrated through wrath, mercy,  jealousy, grief, compassion, correction, disgust and delight- as exemplified fully by the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, both corporately and individually.

    Love doesn't have to be separate from things like anger or annoyance, anger and annoyance simply need to be governed by our love.

    So I agree with the general message of your post,but I think we ought to be cautious to not promote this idea that it is wrong to tell people they are wrong,or that it is automatically hateful to challenge someone's values. What's more dangerous is the horrible epidemic of people claiming that anyone who doesn't exhibit love in a warm fuzzy passive way is full of hate.

     I don't think Jesus was hugging people and giggling while He tossed the tables at Church, I don't think He said "brood of vipers" with a wink and playful nudge.

    Of course, I wasn't there so I don't know.
  • subSacred@xanga

    I am also not sure where you were going with the whole trinity thing. There is no conflict nor contradictions within the Godhead. They are all pissed off by sin, they are all merciful and compassionate. Therefore, although an accurate view of the trinity can be helpful for some things, I don't think it is necessary for understanding God's love or how love should be played out in our lives. 
  • Faerie_In_Combat_Boots@xanga

    Deepshikha likes this.
    Now, if only we could see more of this love being spread around. [which is why I've always loved the Quakers.]

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