The other day, I was reading (one of my favourite authors) and what he said, changed my thinking.
You know its a good thing to challenge your thinking, because most of your thoughts are probably not right. It seems that we have many thoughts that we've simply accepted over time, that don't line up with TRUTH.
TRUTH is a person.
JESUS is TRUTH! John 14:6
But here is basically what Norman Grubb said: 'that we are too busy loving souls and not loving persons. '
Many church buildings and christian institutions are trying (by keeping numbers) how many souls saved, how many have been counted in the kingdom. And missing the bigger picture!
When we do that, (which isn't GOD 'S way), we lose sight of the fact that we are in the business of LOVE. And these are people, who are desperate for LOVE, desperate for HIM. They, like JESUS said; 'Are sheep without a shepherd'. Mark 6:34
GOD warned King David not to count (census) his people. 2nd Samuel 24
You see the world already does this, they have their customers in many cases as numbers, not treating people as customers, or real people. Reducing us to often just numbers.
After all its simply a numbers game. Right?
Governments do as well, counting their army size.
And the Institutional Church often falls into the same trap.
The sin is two fold:
- We are 'counting souls' and not 'loving people'. No one can do both!
- Then we put confidence in our numbers and not our GOD.
This is what the LORD says: "Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the LORD. Jeremiah 17:5
You take the compassion and love and humanity and throw it out the window.
JESUS who is LOVE, and showed us LOVE told us to give our LOVE away to a world
dying for it, who are trying to 'fill in' the emptiness, with sex, money, booze, drugs, fame, power and things, which don't fulfill us. Its only the LOVE of JESUS which can satisfy.
Friend, are you ready to have JESUS fill you with LOVE - with HIMSELF?
Church, are you ready to simply 'love people'? To be like your FATHER who simply 'loved the world' that HE gave?
-eric
