Sunday, February 21, 2010
"She sets no bounds to her affection, no hath any thought of her reward. She finds recompense enough in the exercise of her love towards it."
This is one of my favorite lines from John Winthrop's sermon A Model of Christian Charity. This is such a great description of what should truly be rewarding about loving others. This isn't usually the case, however. At least not for me. While I believe it is important to show love towards others, and do try my hardest to do so in every circumstance, it becomes much more difficult to act lovingly towards people who don't show love and kindness in return.
Love is "absolutely necessary to being the body of Christ."
This is probably the statement that I feel is most important and most convicting. As a Christian, love isn't an option. It's mandatory. Jesus tells his followers that the greatest commandment is to love God and the second greatest is to love others. Love God. Love others. That's what it all boils down to. Winthrop is definitely onto something with this statement. Without love, we cease to function as a body. If we neglect to care for each other during struggles, we end up sacrificing the unity of the body of Christ. That's one of the amazing things about being a part of God's family; not only do we have intimate fellowship with God, but we also have fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
That's what Winthrop is encouraging the Puritans to remember; that they must be able to depend on each other and help each other out when one of their friends needs assistance. They must work together to make both a living and a life in the new world. That they can accomplish more together than the can separately. And that in order to do that, they must love. God and each other.
This is one of my favorite lines from John Winthrop's sermon A Model of Christian Charity. This is such a great description of what should truly be rewarding about loving others. This isn't usually the case, however. At least not for me. While I believe it is important to show love towards others, and do try my hardest to do so in every circumstance, it becomes much more difficult to act lovingly towards people who don't show love and kindness in return.
Love is "absolutely necessary to being the body of Christ."
This is probably the statement that I feel is most important and most convicting. As a Christian, love isn't an option. It's mandatory. Jesus tells his followers that the greatest commandment is to love God and the second greatest is to love others. Love God. Love others. That's what it all boils down to. Winthrop is definitely onto something with this statement. Without love, we cease to function as a body. If we neglect to care for each other during struggles, we end up sacrificing the unity of the body of Christ. That's one of the amazing things about being a part of God's family; not only do we have intimate fellowship with God, but we also have fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
That's what Winthrop is encouraging the Puritans to remember; that they must be able to depend on each other and help each other out when one of their friends needs assistance. They must work together to make both a living and a life in the new world. That they can accomplish more together than the can separately. And that in order to do that, they must love. God and each other.
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