Love is the Answer

Just because I disagree with you doesn't mean I hate you. We need to relearn that in our society (Morgan Freeman). There are times when we see the world around us today and the truth of this rings out. It has become a sad reality in our country today. It seems that we’ve forgotten that there can be disagreement. However, as believers, we’re also called to have a common purpose. To have a common goal to share the gospel of Jesus Christ in all that we do. It’s a gospel of love. But love doesn’t mean agreement. Love is a force that will bring two sides together under one banner. It’s also a love that will bring correction when needed. That was Paul’s word to the Colossian church when he said, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God (Colossians 3:16 ESV).

When the word of Christ dwells within us, the outpouring of our lives will be through the action of love. It’s the basis of the Christian spirit. In the early days of America, the thirteen colonies had different opinions on how the new country should be governed. Each territory had different feelings about who should have which rights. And so delegates came together in 1787 to write out how we, as a new nation, should move forward. These men argued. They debated. But they had a common goal to see a nation flourish. They had a trust in the divine and an understanding of what would come. On September 17, 1787, the Constitution of the United States was ratified. It was a monumental day in the history of America. And as George Washington left the Constitutional Convention to head to the government headquarters in New York, he gave an address to the people of Philadelphia. He said that the Constitution contemplates a state of society in which strict integrity, simplicity, and purity of manners, wide diffusion of knowledge, well-disciplined passions, and wise moderation, are the general characteristics of the people. These virtues, in our nation, are the offspring of Christianity, and without the continued general belief of its doctrines and practice of its precepts they will gradually decline and eventually perish (George Washington, His Address on the Adoption of the Constitution to the People of Philadelphia).

The virtues of our nation, according to Washington, are an offspring of our faith. Our feelings and opinions can be debated without violence when there is a common purpose. When we understand who it is that we worship. When we come together in recognition of His providence and provision, we become united under a common goal and belief. However, when we fail to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15) or we deviate from the truth that we’ve been taught (1 Corinthians 15:1-11), can we still say that the word of Christ dwells in us richly?

As believers in the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6), we’re called to be the light in this world and this country. To stop the gradual declination of society. To live each day, especially when we gather together, in worship of our Lord and Savior. Love is the answer. Jesus said it best, your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples (John 13:35 NLT).