Wiregrass Church
The reason we often struggle to love “those” people is that we don’t agree with them. That’s problematic when “those” people are over there, but it gets infinitely more difficult when “those” people become “that” person—in our families, our neighborhoods, or even our workplaces. Paul had lots of “those” people, and he gives us some great advice on dealing with them.
Have you ever been on the wrong side of a well-meaning person?
Being on the wrong side of a well-meaning Christian can be destructive.
He was probably right and he probably had the best intentions. | It almost drove me away from Jesus.
THOSE PEOPLE
THOSE PEOPLE
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The group of people who are nearly impossible to love.
Life is easier when “those” people stay over there.
In fact, we do our best to keep those people over there.
What do we do when those people become that person?
Those people often become that person in…
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our marriage
our family
our neighborhood
and our workplace
He wants us to love everyone, and when he said it, he literally meant that those people and even the that person in our life.
John 13:34-35 NIV
To really try to get this right as a Jesus follower, it means we have to figure out how to move forward in our relationships with the everyone including those people and even more, that person who's in your life right now.
Colossians 4:3-6 NIV
1 Corinthians 15:3-4 NIV
Colossians 4:3-6 NIV
Why are we so afraid to love people where they are and for who they are?
We think of agreement and acceptance as being the same thing, but agreement and acceptance are not the same thing.
We can disagree and still accept people.
AGREEMENT | Agreement means another must adopt the same perspective as you.
ACCEPTANCE | Acceptance means we value the person over their perspective.
Acceptance and love ARE connected.
Paul learned to accept people where they are, for who they are.
Colossians 4:5 NIV
Confrontations create chasms.
Conversations create connections.
Colossians 4:6 NIV
Grace seeks to understand, not to be understood.
We confront with truth but we converse with grace.
Colossians 4:6 NIV
Conversations create connections.
Jesus understood that conversations are what would allow him to connect with people and allow their lives to be changed over time and if he understood that, and if Paul leveraged it, I wonder if we should consider it too?
Conversations that are full of grace and seasoned with salt are the only way to actually move forward and love people well because conversations are the most empathetic thing we can do.
As a Jesus follower, we're here for other people to experience their heavenly Father, and point-counterpoint is never gonna help that happen because no one has ever been argued into a relationship with Jesus. But they have been loved into one and in conversations is where that begins, full of grace, seasoned with salt.
