Why we need to love people –
We let our lights shine for a purpose greater than high attendance at Sunday School or maximum participation in the church cleanup day. Those are by-products. Loving people unconditionally and serving them like Jesus will cause them to look to the Father. Then, transformation can occur in their lives.
–Ed Stetzer & Thom Rainer
Know that your Lord isn’t only protecting, providing for, and enabling you, but he is working to change you as well…. The Savior is not just working through you in the lives of others, but he is also working in you as He works through you. He is not just calling you to be an agent of His transforming grace; He is transforming you by the same grace.
–Paul David Tripp
Sometimes the very presence of the Holy Spirit within us brings conviction of sin to another, without our ever saying a word. This is especially true when we pray for that person. God’s love in us never abandons; it identifies deeply with individual people. But it also brings the reality of God‘s presence, the purity of his holiness. It is not intimidated by, nor does it flee from, the crisis of sin; neither does it deny the reality of sin’s existence. But sometimes it is the very love of God that demands that we speak painful truth to a friend.
–Rebecca Pippert
We are to live in such a way that shows Christ to others.
Simply doing so can bring conviction to them.
This is not a substitute for verbally sharing our belief in Jesus, rather it is a necessary complement to verbally sharing.
We are called to love others. That will sometimes require us to point out sin and speak painful truths. But that is also what we are called to do when someone is about to be run over by a bus. We point out the danger and speak the truth to keep them from being hit. And when we speak of eternity, sin can be much worse than a bus.
We conclude therefore that a Christian man does not live in himself, but in Christ and in his neighbor, or else is no Christian; in Christ by faith, in his neighbor by love. By faith he is carried upwards above himself to God, and by love he sinks back below himself to his neighbor, still always abiding in God and His love…
–Martin Luther
The Greatest Command: Love God with all that you are and have.
2nd Greatest Command: Love your neighbor as yourself.
…regardless of our temperaments, we all must become initiators. The mark of a mature Christian is whether she or he chooses to be the “host” (the initiator) or the “guest” (the receiver) in relationships where being a host is most appropriate. There are, of course, times when those who are ordinarily hosts should be guests. The point is that the call to love those around us is in part a call to identify their needs. Once we have some understanding of their needs, we must find ways to meet them that are natural for us.
–Rebecca Pippert
We all have a role to play in sharing Christ with others. We can’t hide behind our personalities or temperaments and say “that’s just too uncomfortable for me.” Instead, as a mature Christian, I must step out of my comfort zone to choose to be the host/initiator so that I can be obedient to Christ’s command to share His good news. I must then identify the needs of my guest/receiver, and then strive to meet those needs in a Christlike way that comes naturally to me.
God, help me to be willing to step out of my comfort zone today to be an initiator in finding out what someone else needs. And help me to meet those needs in a compassionate, gracious, loving way.