His Love Compelled Him

The Gospel of John tells us that God so loved the world that He sent His only Son. It is the love of God that compels Him to seek after the lost. When Adam and his wife disobeyed God and broke covenant with Him, God immediately declared a plan to redeem mankind back to relationship with Him. His love compelled Him to send His only Son. Then Jesus’ love compelled Him to come and die in our place that covenant might be restored with the Father. That is why Jesus can say that there is only one way to the Father and that is through Him.

In our zeal as His followers we have sometimes focused so much on the sin that we have forgotten God’s love for the sinner. While we must recognize sin and take a strong stand against it, we are not to take a strong stand against people.

Perhaps a good means of gauging this is to ask ourselves how many people we know that are living sinful lifestyles. Do you personally know anyone in the homosexual lifestyle? How about someone on drugs? Know anyone in adultery?

Let’s make it a little easier. Do you know anyone who thrives on gossiping? Anyone who has criticized someone behind his or her back? How about someone who knows to do the right thing but doesn’t do it? Scripture tells us that all those things are sin as well. 

Is it possible to stand against sin but still love the sinner? Are we repulsed by the activity or by the person? Can we separate them? If we are going to be a strong voice in our nation for scriptural values, we must speak the truth in love. Without love we are harsh and irritating like a clanging cymbal.

We are to be salt and light but too much salt spoils the taste and too much light blinds the eyes.  If we listen to the voice of our Father, we will season our atmosphere well and shine the right amount of light for clear vision.  His love must compel us as it compels Him.  The compassion of God should break our heart for the lost.

I remember one time on the way into a crusade event in our city, a little girl fell and hit her head as her family crossed the street in front of us. The gash across her forehead was bleeding profusely as her mother rushed her to the bathroom. I followed her in to see if she needed help and the poor mom was beside herself trying to stop the bleeding. As we got a towel and applied pressure to the wound, the Lord began to move in my heart with His compassion for the mom. I put my arms around her and prayed for the peace of the Lord to flood her heart and mind.  We cried together as only moms can. When a child is hurt. The bleeding eventually stopped and the little girl stopped crying but the gash was pretty deep. Since it was on her face, I shared with the mom that if it were my daughter I would get it stitched. She agreed and left to ask her waiting husband to get the car so they could leave.

I felt I needed to stay with them until the car arrived since the mom was pretty shaken and still needed some assurance.  As we stood in the hall between the outer entrance and the inner entrance to the stadium, believers hurried past us to get seats before the crusade began.  When they saw the little girl with blood all over her dress and a bloody towel held to her head, they began shouting scriptures as they hurried by. “By Jesus’ stripes you are healed!” “No weapon formed against you shall prosper!”

As believer after believer hurried by calling out over their shoulders,  I found myself becoming angry. I love the word of God and I love to hear it spoken, but at that moment everything in me wanted to shout, “Be quiet! Stop shouting at this child!” My reaction astounded me and after the family left for the emergency room, I sought a quiet place to ask the Lord why I had felt that way.  He began ministering to me that at that moment His compassion had overwhelmed my heart. His love had compelled me to follow the mother and child into the bathroom and to stand with her when she needed help. Those rushing by may have had solutions from the Word, but they were focused on their own needs and agendas.

That night the Lord showed me how the world often sees us—shouting answers and commands to people as we hurry by fulfilling our own agendas. If we are to make a difference in their lives, we must stop and love, bringing His compassion for them into their lives.

Do we truly know people who need Jesus? Have we taken the time to stand by them until the bleeding stops? Do they see Jesus when we speak to them? Do they feel His arms around them when we hug them? Our message must be strong, but our love must be even stronger.