The Power of Love (Part 2 of 2)

(Continued from Part 1)  Let's face it: people are hurting IN THE CHURCH, people who have probably spent most--if not all--their lives IN THE CHURCH.  Their silent tears are going unnoticed, and they're crying out for help in a place that's supposed to offer them aid but unfortunately doesn't because the people in the so-called place of healing have made them feel like they CANNOT be transparent about what's happening in their lives.  So where then they do go?  To all the people, places and things that WON'T judge them.  The bar, the drug dealer, the strip club, the prostitute, their workloads, the Internet, and the list goes on.  It's sad when people find more safety in ANY place other than the house of GOD and among ANYONE else than the redeemed of the LORD, doing ANYTHING but the will of GOD.  But that's the state of affairs in our nation's churches.

Hurting people will expend all their resources (i.e. money, time and effort) trying to escape what the church fails to heal via the power of the Holy Ghost.  Eventually, their wells run dry; and when all else fails, suicide usually ends up being their only conceivable way out.  So with that said, WHAT then are we going to do about it?  HOW are we going to change this?  Because it's not enough for us to be the thermometer that accurately reads the temperature of the environment.  If we're indeed going to be Kingdom people empowered to do Kingdom work, then we must aspire to BE the thermostat and SET the temperature.

We must be willing to be healed and then likewise become conduits through which healing flows.  Love is patient, so it doesn't place unrealistic expectations or timetables on an individual's healing process.  Love is kind: it in no way ridicules or makes light of people's situations.  And we can continue going down the list of characteristics the Apostle Paul outlined in 1 Corinthians 13.  Most importantly, though, is that LOVE NEVER FAILS.  Regardless of what the naysaying, wannabe super-saved among us have to say, love ALWAYS gets the job done.  Therefore, we must genuinely become more loving people who are not afraid to love others--regardless of their backgrounds--back to health.  We are called to those who are crying out for help, so let's get to work.