Por tanto, imiten a Dios, como hijos muy amados, y lleven una vida de amor, así como Cristo nos amó y se entregó por nosotros como ofrenda y sacrificio fragante para Dios. Efesios 5: 1-2 (NVI) Una cosa que fue muy evidente en mi padre fue su amor por Jesús. Con sólo mencionar el nombre de Jesús su rostro se iluminaba, y decía el nombre de Jesús como si fuera una expresión de cariño. Él amaba a Dios con todo su corazón. Su trabajo como pastor era una labor de amor. Pastoreó durante décadas y nunca dejó de lado su pasión y alegría por el ministerio, amando y compartiendo de Jesús con la gente donde quiera que iba. ¿Cómo lo hizo? Desarrolló su camino de …
El Amor, No La Ley
Cuando usted ama a los demás, completa lo que la ley ha sido después de todo este tiempo. Romanos 13: 8-10 (MSG) Si usted ha dado su vida a Jesucristo, ha nacido de nuevo. Jesús vive dentro de usted. Pero esta vida cristiana será difícil si no desarrolla su camino de amor, porque va a estar tratando de obedecer a Dios desde la ley en lugar del amor. Cuando intenta obedecer a Dios desde la ley, usted tiende a buscar dónde está la línea para que pueda mantenerse justo por debajo de ella. Usted preguntará “¿Qué puedo y no puedo hacer?”. “¿Es malo jurar? ¿Qué pasa con la extraña mentira blanca?” Va a estar enfocado en descifrar todas las reglas. Las personas que aman no …
Love, Not Law
When you love others, you complete what the law has been after all along. Romans 13:8–10 (MSG) If you’ve given your life to Jesus Christ, you are born again. Jesus lives inside you. But this Christian life will be hard if you do not develop your love walk, because you’ll be trying to obey God out of law instead of love. When you try to obey God out of law, you’ll tend to look for where the line is so you can stay just under it. “What can and can’t I do?” you’ll ask. “Is it bad to swear? What about the odd white lie?” You’ll be focused on figuring out all the rules. People who love don’t need a whole bunch of rules. Because …
What Christianity was always meant to be
When you heat water in a kettle, you can always tell when it’s getting ready to boil. As the pressure builds, you begin to hear a bubbling noise before the whistle. People are a lot like kettles. When they are going through a stressful time and the pressure is mounting, you can hear warning signs in their conversation. These warnings are like little God-opportunities landing on your lap. Do you see them as opportunities? If someone tells you that their week isn’t going very well, that’s a chance for you to say, “Tell me all about it,” or “Hey, let’s go for coffee this week.” Although these opportunities rarely happen at convenient times, I’ve found that there’s nothing more rewarding than being there for someone …
Just to See Him Smile
In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome. 1 John 5:3 (NIV) When you love someone, you want to make them smile. Years ago parents used to arrange marriages for their kids. In an arranged marriage, families would choose a spouse for their child to the best of their ability. Of course, at rst the couple wouldn’t be in love, but the idea was they would develop love for each other. If they developed love, that marriage would thrive. Without love, it was hard. You see, a loveless marriage becomes centred on roles and rules rather than relationship, which takes all the joy and passion out of it. The same is true of your relationship with …