Jesus said to love our neighbors...period. Not to love people so that they will 'get saved'. He also said that "They will know that you are My disciples by the way you love one another." The motive is to love for the sake of love, not to love for the sake of "bringing someone to Christ."
It's such a fine line. Some college kids and I bring homemade cookies and other treats to a spot on campus Thursday nights to give to anyone walking by. People ask us what group we are with or why we are doing it. We tell them that "Jesus told us to love our neighbors so that's what we're trying to do." The question on my mind is do we do this in the name of love so that maybe, just maybe, someone will 'get saved', or do we do this solely out of love with no ulterior motive?
As always with Jesus, it's about the motive, not the outward action...
I'm reading this book called "UnChristian" and they talk about how this generation is "quick to sniff out what they believe to be the underlying motivations and superficialities." And it's often thought that Christians (genuine motives or not), "rather than being genuinely interested in people for their friendships, often seem like spiritual headhunters."
1 comment:
good post, cogent questions, very thought provoking
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