Committed to Loving Others
Paul wrote this little letter to Philemon, and he begins it by applauding Philemon’s love for other people. We read it in verses 4-5, and 7: “I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your love for all his holy people… Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people.” (Philemon 1:4–5, 7 NIV11)
What’s a sign of a committed Christian? A litmus test, if you will, that you are living the Christian life? It’s your love for people.
If you are truly committed to God, you will always be committed to loving others, because your life is based on the love God has for you.
Love That Spreads
One my dreams for my little church here in Boksburg is that we become known for our love and outreach. I remember, shortly after joining the Church of the Nazarene I want to our district assembly, and Pastor Dawie at Agape Gemeente, a huge Nazarene church in Rustenburg, shared about the good things their church was able to do in their community. It was inspiring! Their church was able to serve schools and retirement homes in various ways; they helped fix the potholes and cut grass in their community; they reached out to people in their workplaces; they welcomed many new people into their church and the whole town seemed to know that these are people who help out. And I thought, wow! Maybe someday people in my town will say “that little Church of the Nazarene, they love others”.
Philemon’s love had reached the ears of Paul. He’d heard about it, people were speaking about him as a loving person of God. And it’s wonderful to see how this love of Philemon spread! Paul said that because of the way Philemon’s love had affected the people, Paul himself was full of joy and encouragement!
This is the way of love, of Christ’s love – when we spread it, it keeps on spreading.
Are we committed to love? Are we so committed to loving others and refreshing their hearts and encouraging them that the word begins to spread?
Defined by Love
Is there anybody who could write you a letter, or send you an email today, and say “I hear about your love for all God’s people! And I know it’s true because your own love has brought me great joy and encouragement!”?
If not, maybe it’s time to change that. Maybe it’s time to order your life by the way you can spread the love of God to others.
Be a Philemon. Be defined by your love for others. That’s the Christian way.
