By Chris Reuter, Clarendon
God loves everyone!
I was doing a study in my Bible the other night, and the Lord led me to some scripture that brought a ton of wisdom to light about certain subjects I was having slight confusion on. Remember, God is not the author of confusion. Man using God’s word for his own agenda is. It’s a fault in mankind. That’s why we must correct one another in Love and in scripture.
1 Corinthians 4:21 talks about would you rather I come in love or with a rod? First and foremost, this is a stand for God and kingdom living. A stand for unity in Christ. Clarendon used to be unified by its churches. Now, we are more divided than ever. Why? Don’t we serve the same God? Don’t we love the same way the Bible tells us to?
The word Sanctuary originally means from the holiest places, temple, or church. Now, it’s a word used for anyone to feel safe or protected. So, shouldn’t sanctuary city be a place for people to run to, instead of running from? Psalms 133 talks about brotherly unity in Christ, not division. It’s really important for us to consider the subjects that divide us the most. Not what does our heart say or our emotions based off experience say, but what does God’s word say about it? 1
Corinthians 13:7-13 is one perfect example of scripture defining love and how to love in a kingdom manner. 1 Corinthians 6:1-11 talks about avoiding lawsuits with other Christians. Galatians 5:25 mentions living by the Holy Spirit and walking by the Spirit. Verse 26 mentions again not to be conceited or provoking one another. 1 John 4 is a great chapter on testing things with God to see if they are real or not. Verse 1 says, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, instead test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets and teachers have gone into the world.”
I’m asking us as a whole to seek this out together in scripture. If every church here opened their doors and was called a safe place or safe haven or sanctuary for women to run to or girls to reach out to or troubled youth seeking help could call or go to, they would never even make it to the other end of the spectrum. They would never have to make decisions to put them or anyone else at risk. We should be open doors, not closed minds. Changing our mindset and resources will accomplish more than we know. Statistics prove certain issues are lower in communities that have these safety nets in place.
The only way we should be seeking to change our inner-city walls is with the Lord and a kingdom living mindset. I’ve never seen any man-made law or city ordinance stop the worst of crimes, but then again maybe some do. State and federal laws are already in place to prevent certain things from happening. Some issues are just better handled on a larger scale rather than by city ordinances.
The whole point is this. If we want to correct the issues that may or may not be up for discussion, we must do it in love and put things in place that help people not cause them more worldly issues that they may face. That’s what God wants from us, not all this division.
God loves all of us. Even the people you think are doing the worst things in the world could possibly stop with God’s love given to them. Stand for what is right; stand for kingdom living. Read your bible and form your own opinion on what God is showing you.
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