“For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.” 2 Peter 1:16
Eyewitnesses of Christ’s majesty. Have you ever thought about what it would be like to have been there watching everything the Savior was doing? Witnessing the tenderness with which He spoke to the sinners, it had to have been wonderful. I can only imagine the way that He touched the lepers healing them instantly. The gasps from the crowd as He reached out to them, it was a tremendous scandal after all, touching a leper. At that point, for the clean to touch the unclean made the clean, unclean. Yet with Jesus the opposite happened. The clean touched the unclean and made the unclean, clean!!! In Christ we too can have no fear of touching the unclean, because we have been made clean though His perfect blood on the cross.
All too often religion still teaches us that “Thou shalt not…”, but so many of those shalt nots have been turned on their heads! For instance, I know of many that teach against drinking. And for them and their lives, they need to live that and perhaps they’ve even been called to teach that. But then I know others whose entire ministry is based in a bar! They go, they drink (NOT HEAVILY) and they do a Bible Study. They invite the people of the bar to come and join them, and they do! Many have been saved by this very ministry; because suddenly, these drunkards have witnessed the Grace of God right smack dab in the middle of their sin.
Way too often we spend so much time condemning the sin that we forget there is a sinner involved in the process. A sinner that first and foremost needs LOVED. Loved and taught that they matter to an Almighty God who created them and cares for them. I think we’ve lost sight of the POWER of the LOVE of Christ. We spend so much time focusing on the sin and the judgment of it that we lose sight of what we’re really supposed to be here doing.
LOVING PEOPLE.
We get so wrapped up in DOING that we forget the LOVING part of the process. We do our good works and we pat ourselves on the back, check it off our list and then turn around and scowl at the guy walking out of the bar. We cluck at the single mom who had one bad night and is paying for it for the rest of her life. Instead of wrapping our arms around her and offering to watch her kid for her so that she can take a break and try to regain her sanity. (I spent most of last week as a single mom while my husband was away on a business trip; I honestly don’t know how you gals do it! My hat is off to you!!!)
If we would just bother to read our Bibles once in a while we would notice that the love of Christ compels us to do good works. It covers over a multitude of sins, it bears all things, but most of all it’s the greatest thing that remains when everything is said and done. Love is greater than faith and hope. So while we can preach ourselves blue in the face on being faithful and hoping in Christ, the reality of the matter is that LOVE IS WHERE THE POWER IS!!! If faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains, what can a little bit of love in the form of a smile and a wave do?
I know you know what I mean. Think about a day where you were up against the wall, you could feel the blindfold over your eyes and you could hear the distinctive click of the firing squad taking aim. And then someone you don’t even know smiled and waved at you. But it wasn’t just any smile; it was the kind of smile that goes all the way to their eyes. Or better yet, the smile of someone who actually does know you. The kind of smile that lights up their entire being when you walk into the room because they’re genuinely happy to see you. Those are the kinds of smiles that can literally change your entire day. They’re not hard, but they’re amazingly powerful. The power of Love taking the form of a smile, in Jesus’ name.
Tamar Knochel 