Church is...3 - loving

If the Church is to love God and love others then the core purpose of Church is to love! Yet, many experience that the Church is not unconditionally loving. Many have experiencved conditional love and exceptance in their experience of Church - this is a diminished view of the love God has called us to live and show. I've heard it said that True love waits, but in this context love does not wait - it just gets on with loving, in thought, word, and ultimately, in deeds.

It needs to be said that there are many floowers of Jesus and Churches that show amazing lives and communities of unconditional love. Yet as people look at the Church in the West this is not the most prominent image of Church seen. We need to be transformed from the heart out into the community.

Look at Jesus lifestyle: He loved the crowds by feeding them with words and with food; he loved the leper by approaching them, talking with them and healing them; he loved women through respecting them; he loved kids by giving them his time; he loved his disciples by disciplining, teaching and releasing them; he loved the world by serving, saving and sacrificing himself; he loved God through obeying him; he loved.

As God's Church we have much repenting to do for our lack of love. We have lacked:

Love for the lost - if we really cared about the lost our perspective would not be so individualistic or insular.
Love for God - we live our faith in our way (it's my life!) rather than in Jesus' way (He is THE Way!)
Love for each other - many churches are filled with people who love others when "they play ball" and fit unspoken rules and expectations.Love for God's word - our words have somehow become more vocal than God's inspired, Spirit-breathed word.

We need to repent. we really need to turn back to God and BE the Church that Jesus died to send into the world. We need to get on our knees and pray that god's mercy touches our hearts afresh. We need to let go of all the 'church' baggage that's got us bound up and be freed to follow Jesus as unconditional lovers of God who unconditionally love ALL people, even when they are different, wrong, right, or down-right strange.

Follow Jesus - Love God - Love others - with no conditions