You wake up and a beautiful sunrise is peaking over the horizon. You got a good night’s sleep and the coffee warms your bones. You thank God for these blessings. Everything is well; until you read the paper or turn on the news. Suddenly, the good feeling is gone and replaced by a surge of emotions that only the sin of the world can invoke. It can be hard to shake the heaviness and sadness it seems to have over the whole day. We live in a corrupt world; there is no doubt about that. Everywhere we look there are examples of anger, greed, hatred, sin — all permeating the culture and into our personal lives. Even knowing we have the hope of heaven, it can be hard to see the hand of God. But in these times of confusion, doubt and chaos, we Christians have the responsibility to be the hands and feet of God. What do we do when there seems to be nothing left to do; no more to say? We can love! With so much hatred everywhere it is more important than ever to spread the love of Christ. John 13: 34-35 says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this, all men will know you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
In the dead of winter, trees are difficult to tell apart unless you are a horticulturist. The bare branches tend to look alike against a gray winter sky. But in the spring the blossoms give a hint of what will follow and by summer the identity of the tree is clear by the leaves and fruit it grows. The same could be said for Christians. From a distance, we look like everyone else. But upon closer inspection, we find the fruit of the Spirit we bear as evidence of our experience as Christians. Galatians 5: 22-23 — But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Furthermore, we have been taught the greatest of the fruits is love.
We struggle with whether we are doing this ‘Christian life’ the way we are supposed to. It’s not easy and it seems complicated. In our whining we say it’s hard, but then God reminds us it’s really not that complicated; love God, and love everyone else; because love covers a multitude of sins. Love can counter fear, love can counter hate, love condemns sin without condemning the sinner. Love is a powerful source in this world. When the evil of the world threatens to throw you off your feet, remember this: God loves you; always has and always will. Nothing changes that. God’s heart is grieved by sin, and while we cannot see God’s great purpose, we know God hates sin even more than we do. We can show the love of God through our words, actions and attitudes. Ultimately, the victory belongs to God! There will come a day when sin and darkness will be no more. Until then, we cling to the knowledge that God loves and we should do our best to show that love to others.
Alison Smith
