Hello ICC Family!
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.
And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?
Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”
1 John 3:16-18
I don’t have much more to say about these verses than I did last Sunday during the sermon. So, I am sending them on to you so you can join me in contemplating them, enjoying them, and being challenged by them.
One of the points that I did not have time to develop, let alone add to the sermon, was that as believers we are often quick to judge and slow to serve each other. The example we are given here in verse 17 is of service and generosity and compassion - with no mention at all as to the reason such a service is needed. When confronted with helping others, so often we jump immediately to thinking about the why… Why do people need our help? And of course, we want to know the answer to that in order to determine whether or not they are deserving of our help. In this example, though, there are no qualifications, no exceptions, and no justification given. Just a call to show pity in some way.
As believers we need to be different! Instead of being quick to judge and slow to serve, let’s try to be quick to serve people in their need and very slow to judge the why’s of their need. We can save the judging for another area - one that we are called to judge - the spirits! Which sounds a little strange, but we will find out all about that this Sunday as we move into 1 John chapter 4. I look forward to seeing all of you there and worshiping together!
Blessings to you all. And know that I’m praying for you!
Pastor Aaron