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Loving Our Neighbors Even When we Disagree — 14 Comments

  1. Is Love a generic term? I say no. Agape love is the type of love we seek. There are a number of texts that Jesus used to define love, such as love your enemies, do good to those that hate you. How well do we apply what the Bible admonishes? The problems that we deal with in our every day life as pointed out, are a dichotomy. We have at least two faces. One good and one not so good. Does loving then come naturally, so to speak? My prayers often ask for a loving heart. Some of the just situations as noted may need space for opportunity in many minds. Right is right as we see it. The grey areas will find room for debate. That is inevitable. Loving one another 24 hours a day does not come naturally. The Disciples had problems with this type of life much the same as we do.

    (8)
    • "it does not come naturally" is kind of the point isn't it...loving our enemy doesn't come naturally, neither does forgiving "seventy times seven" because the righteousness God requires of us is unnatural to our fallen nature, that is EXACTLY why we need to be Born Again of water and the Spirit, so that the love of God can be poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us (romans 5:5). The righteousness God requires of us is God's not ours

      (1)
  2. God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself and teaching as how to reconcile to each other. True love will drive us to want to be reconciled to each other, and this we can only do if we allow the same Spirit that was in Christ to be in us.

    (14)
  3. Loving our neighbors, fellow church members & etc. is a difficult task for most. That difficulty can even be true for family also! Most of us don't really have a deep grasp upon God's love. Perhaps many church members read the love chapter, 1 Corinthians 13, but it does not convict them enough to bring about a daily life impact. Many are content with playing church, rather than embodying Christ's example of getting intensely involved with our brothers & sisters. That means, fellowshipping with them during the week, offering tangible help where needed, calling & praying with them & generally adopting them as family members. Sis. White declares that, were we to truly reflect & exhibit God's love, we'd see 100 joining our church where we only see one. The mandate is clear, we must exercise His love, so that it grows stronger & more effective within our own lives, thereby helping transform others lives after His divine character. And consequently, drawing more to accepting His most valuable gift of eternal salvation.

    (13)
    • "Many are content with playing church, rather than embodying Christ's example of getting intensely involved with our brothers & sisters." This shows the extent of blindness we often than not marvel in, may the Almighty God the author of Love and Grace help me no wonder one Pastor said we should no longer call people to church but rather to Christ.

      (5)
  4. Naturally It is not easier to love our enemies or those we disagree with, we need God's help to do that, we need the help of the holy spirit . That is why we need to seek His help and wisdom each and every moment of our life to know how to relate and love our neighbor even those we disagree with.

    (8)
  5. I think this message needs to be preached in all Adventist Churches. I have been an Adventist since 1994 and I clearly see that the Adventist Church is great in Bible knowledge but in application is very poor. Throughout the entire bible God is clear that He does not force any to follow Him. We need to be Ambassadors of God and Christ by showing through action not only word that following Christ is the greatest and most wonderful thing anyone can do. Unfortunately now in the political climate we are in Christians are showing ALL the opposite and acting as advocates of Satan.

    (1)

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