Scripture: Matthew 10:5-16
Dear Church,
What does it look like to walk in love?
We expect a life grounded in love will transform us so that we are universally respected and admired. We expect a loving life will result in a favored, safe and comfortable existence. Find love, choose love and live happily ever after. So say all the fairy tales and rom-coms.
But Jesus, who is the incarnation of God’s love, is honest with his disciples about the unexpected contours of a life of love. When he sends them out in love to their communities, he tells them they will preach good news, heal the sick and raise the dead. He insists they travel vulnerably, unarmed and empty-handed. He warns them not to expect universal welcome and honor, he cautions them that they will sometimes be rejected and hated. He prepares them to respond faithfully either way.
These are still our operating instructions.
When love is the core value of our lives, we will become conduits of God’s grace and healing. When God’s love is the foundation of our lives, we live trusting God to provide for us, no longer anxiously striving to provide for ourselves. When Love guides us, we go out vulnerably, knowing we will experience rejection and accusation, soberly prepared not to respond in kind.
In other words, when we walk in Love, our lives will be cruciform, our story will echo the story of Christ. The love of Christ will always compel us to hold onto peace, even when we are attacked, to always have a reason for the hope that is within us, to always seek reconciliation with our brothers and sisters.
I hope you will join me this Sunday before Valentine’s Day, for worship at 10am in the sanctuary or on the live-stream. We will let the gospel once again teach us what love looks like. Together, we will ask the Holy Spirit to fix us and fill us with the love of Christ.
Peace,
Pastor Kate
Want to chat about what you have heard? Click here:
https://www.thegrovecharlotte.org/connect-with-us
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS