I Will Not Be Silent

I have been quiet during these troubling times praying and searching for the right words to say. I realized I will never have the perfect words to say, but God’s Word has already provided what we need to hear. We (Christians) should not remain silent, fearful the words we share are inadequate, but rather speak in FAITH with boldness and confidence sharing God’s Word (2 Timothy 1:7). Society has complicated, misused, and watered down God’s Word to fit the lifestyle they want to live. And too often the church remained silent. By doing so, we have opened the door to our communities for the enemy (the devil) to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). People are not our enemy (Ephesians 6:12); the devil is always looking for ways to create division and spread hate, but Jesus called us to walk in love (I Corinthians 16:14).

We have passively and actively gone through life primarily looking out for our own needs and interests. If we call ourselves Christians, that is unacceptable; Jesus told us to go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19).  Look around and you will see there is no greater time than now to share the Gospel.  I challenge Christians and churches to take action, to go beyond the comfortable walls of your homes and sanctuaries to the broken and hurting places in our communities. We need to build people up, not tear them down (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

Jesus made it plain and simple reminding us the greatest commandments are to love God and love people (Matthew 22:36-39). If you are reading this and you are not a Christian, please forgive me and other Christians you know if we have not made it a priority to share God’s love with you.  If you are a Christian, ask God to show you how to love like He loves. In 1 Corinthians 13, God set the standard for love and reminds us that as we do good things, they must be rooted in love or they mean nothing.

Every day we have countless opportunities to share the love of God with a lost, hurting, broken, and dying world.  Don’t let a moment pass by to share His love because the person He put in your path is different than you. Young or old, rich or poor, male or female, black or white, God sent Jesus to die for us ALL (Galatians 3:28-29). Jesus paid the ultimate price so that no one should perish and so we could ALL be saved and experience a meaningful personal relationship with Him (John 3:16). God’s love changes everything!

My Prayer: God help me to love like You! May Your Holy Spirit guide me and give me the words to say and the appropriate action to take when someone around me is in need. Give me courage and faith so I don’t let a person’s age, socioeconomic status, race, religion, or lifestyle keep me from sharing Your love. I thank You, praise You, and give You honor and glory for every life that is transformed because You opened my heart to share love.

Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.

Colossians 3:14 NLT