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... 't think so. The only thing that will matter then is whether or not you have a relationship with him. God is not going to say, "Oh, you " re a United Methodist! Well, come on in. " He is not going to put the Baptists on one floor and the Presbyterians on another. The Bible says there is, "ONE Lord, ONE faith, ONE baptism; ONE God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all" (Ephesians 4: 5). When we belong to Christ we are one, and we need to act like it.
When Jesus prayed for us in that great prayer found in the seventeenth chapter of John, he prayed, "that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me" (John 17: 21). Our witness to the world is whether or not we love each other. It determines whether they will believe what we say about God. Those outside the church do not care about our doctrine or our beautiful building. They don't care what the sign says in front of the church.
What they want to know is whether the people under the steeple love each other, and whether they would be loved if they dared to step inside. Paul had to warn those in the early church who were having problems in this area: "If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other" (Galatians 5: 15). The problem is that the biting and devouring has continued among some to this very day. Don't tell me you love God if you are constantly finding fault with other people. Don't talk to me about your love for God if there are some people you would not welcome into this church. Don't talk to me about your love for God if you look at some people here as the outsiders.
Don't talk to me about your love for God if you are criticizing and judging other people. Don't tell me you love God if you are wanting to take the speck out of someone's eye while ignoring the log in your own. Don't tell me about your love for God, because I won't believe you - and neither will anyone else, especially God. John wrote: "We love because he first loved us.
If anyone says, 'I love God, ' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother" (1 John 4: 19 - 21). When we love each other it is the sign that we are in love with God. Paul's message to the early church is a message we still need for today. He said, "I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4: 1 - 3). Our unity is important to God. The third point is that we learn to have a relationship with others: When we continue to grow in our relationship with God. The first thing that will happen when you stop growing in your relationship with God is that you will have problems with your relationships with other people.
Let me be careful to say that not all problems in relationships are a sign that you are not growing in your relationship with God. Sometimes these relationships are beyond our control. Sometimes the other person is making it impossible to get along, or has ended the relationship. But I can tell you from experience that when you drift in your relationship with God it will affect all the other relationships in your life.
Conversely, the closer you come to God, the closer you will come to other people. When you fall away from God it always affects how you treat other people. Listen to the Bible as it says, "The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God" (Galatians 5: 19 - 21). Did you hear the things which were listed among the things we normally think of when we talk about sin?
It always amazes me that we are shocked when someone in the church commits adultery, and we even have the tendency to shun them. But when it comes to someone sowing discord and creating dissension, we excuse these people and remind ourselves what good workers they are in the church. It has been wonderful to experience the closeness that has developed among the people in our small groups. We have come closer to God and closer to each other. As we understand how much we have been forgiven, even though we did not deserve it, we have a deep desire to forgive others, even if they may not deserve it. As we have experienced the grace of God, we want to extend grace to others.
As we begin to understand how patient and kind God has been toward us, we want to be patient and kind toward others. As we share together, and become increasingly honest about who we are and what we are really like, we are encouraged that we do not find people judging us, but loving us. We are living out the scripture which says, "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity" (Colossians 3: 12 - 14). We do this because the Bible says, "Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you" (Ephesians 4: 312 - 32). We forgive because we have been forgiven. We are patient with others because God in his mercy has been patient with us. "We love because he first loved us" (1 John 4: 19). Robert Johnson, in his book Balancing Heaven and Earth, tells of a dream he had in which his soul was on trial.
He writes, "A prosecutor presented all the sins of commission and omission that I was responsible for throughout my life, and the list was very long indeed. That went on for hours, and it fell on me like a landslide. I was feeling worse and worse to the point where the soles of my feet were hot. After hours of accusations from the prosecution, a group of angels appeared to conduct my defense.
All they could say was, 'But he loved. ' They began chanting this over and over in a chorus: 'But he loved. But he loved. But he loved. ' This continued until dawn, and in the end, the angels won, and I was safe. " The Bible says, "Love covers a multitude of sins" (1 Peter 4: 8).
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Research essay sample on Relationship With God Love For God
