Love Warns

"We give thanks to you, O God;

we give thanks, for your name is near.

We recount your wondrous deeds.

'At the set time that I appoint

I will judge with equity.

When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants,

it is I who keep steady its pillars."

Psalm 75:1-3

It is coming.  Whether I want it or not, judgement is coming.  Even if the world is not ready, the time will come when each must stand before the Lord and give an accounting of choices made, words uttered, lives lived (Romans 14:12).  

With such a sober inevitability as this, to be judged by a just Judge, it is time to warn others.  True love does not stand by and let people continue living as if there will be no consequences for their sin (1 Corinthians 13:6).  God's brand of love warns others of the judgment that is to come.  As Jesus demonstrated, love says, "Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near." (Matthew 4:17 NLT)

Love does not stand by quietly, but love warns.

Promotion.  It's hard to be a writer and not be ambitious.  In order to get the word out about what I write, I must promote.  The world says to extol my own virtues and pump myself up, while God wants me to let Him do the lifting.  Only God can give success and without His favor, there will be no measure of achievement.  It's a lesson I am learning, slowly.

The world sends a message that is contrary to God's best for me.  It says that I must go after what I want if I am to reach my goals and live a meaningful life.  God meant it to be different than this.  He doesn't want me focused on me and what I want, but on Him and what He wants.  When it's all about my life, my goals, my purpose, I am naturally quite self-centered and will never feeling content with whatever level I reach.  Why?  Because nothing is ever enough.  

Only God can satisfy my deepest desires, and only He can bring fulfillment to my searching heart.  Even if I became the most popular writer in the world, it would not mean a thing apart from God.  He is the treasure I run after.

Love warns of the emptiness in running after selfish dreams that lead to self-promotion.  Only God can promote.

Placement.  I tend to want to put prideful, haughty people in their place, taking them down a few notches when they spout their arrogant words.  It bugs me when someone acts as if they are so good that they can tell everyone what to do, as if they know what is best for me or anyone else.  The trouble with my attempts at chastening another is that sometimes I am that prideful, haughty person.  It is true; only God can humble a man (Daniel 4:37).

It comes naturally to my flesh for my feathers to be ruffled.  When I try to take matters into my own hands and attempt to put someone in the place I think they need to be, I am forgetting that God is the only One who knows what it takes for each person to be humbled.  For some, it is an illness.  For others, it is the loss of a job or position of importance.  For a few, it is a broken marriage or other relationship.  Whatever it takes, God will do it in order to reconcile them to Himself.

Love warns of the reality that God is in the business of reconciliation, and sometimes that comes through the rude and harsh wake-up calls of life.

Justice.  It will be perfect and just.  There will be no question it is what is owed.  It may seem harsh or too strict, but only God is righteous.  Judgement is coming.

Nothing will get past God.  He will not look the other way when it comes to all the ways of man that offend Him.  Only the blood of Jesus will cover sins and provide a measure of protection against His righteous wrath.  God's love does not allow for man to come to the judgment seat unaware.  He wants all to be saved from the serious consequences of sin (1 Timothy 2:4).  How will they know the truth of what is to come if they are not told (1 Peter 4:5-6, 2 Timothy 4:1-5)?  

Love warns of the coming judgment, and that it is perfectly just and true with no means of escape save one:  Jesus Christ!

Our only hope is Jesus.  The world must be told.  If they are never warned, they will face the harsh reality of a judgement before the Just Judge that will bring eternal consequences to bear.  Love does not let any go forth unaware, but desires that everyone know the truth of the Gospel and be given a chance to repent so as to escape the death sentence all sin demands.  Love does not idly stand by and let people live a life of selfish ambition in ignorance of God's attempt at reconciliation or of their eternal demise.  Love warns!

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can stop using love as an excuse to not address the sin problem in this world and instead discover the boldness of God's brand of love to warn others of what is to come.

How am I idly sitting by while people all around me are destined for eternal suffering?

When is my fear of offending someone keeping me from saving them from something much worse than hurt feelings?