Loving Openly
READ IT ALOUD: Open rebuke is better than secret love (Proverbs 27:5).
PONDER IT PRAYERFULLY: What does this verse mean? If we claim to love people, then this love will compel us to warn them about the dangers of destructive and riotous living that lead down the road to death. This is better than standing by and watching, doing absolutely nothing.
Confronting and rebuking sin is better than tolerating it. Do those you love know you love them? Maybe they are waiting for you to say something about their lifestyle; are you just standing by, waiting for them to receive a word from God? How do you know that you are not the vessel God desires to use to get that word to them?
BE A DOER (JAMES 1:22): It is hard for us to take up this responsibility of open rebuke when it falls on our laps. However, Jesus told us to do to others what we would have them do to us. We would not expect those who truly love us to stand by while we walk toward a dangerous cliff they know about that we cannot see. True love does not slander or gossip; true love is obedient to God and does what Jesus would – not judging unrighteously, but not tolerating sin either.
HIDE IT IN YOUR HEART (PSALM 119:11): Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful (Proverbs 27:6).
PRAY IT PERSONALLY: Father in heaven, let me not wish my friends Godspeed as they traipse off into sinful living. Let me be a person who is willing to risk embarrassment and a damaged reputation for Your sake – let me be a true friend who will not have the kind of love that only I know about, but rather will openly love those I call my friends, in Jesus’ Name. Amen
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