Love, Life and Ministry: # 2

Ministering from the Heart

"... let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love." - 1 John 4:7-8 (NKJV)


      Have you ever felt like a hypocrite? Like you don't feel worthy or good enough to tell people about Jesus? If you say yes, then I would estimate that you are in the same boat as the majority of people who call themselves Christians. What has this got to do with love? Well, everything in fact, because love is an issue of the heart and so is hypocrisy. You see, one of the broad definitions of a hypocrite is someone who does something, but with the wrong motives. So how do we minister out of the right motives then?
 
     I was out ministering on the streets of our city last week. It was night time and well below freezing, it was cold! My little group of fearless evangelists stumbled upon a couple, sitting in the doorway of a shop. The woman was five months pregnant and the man had all their belongings stuffed into a duffel bag. We decided to stop and listen to their story. As it turned out, they had nowhere to go, no money, no food and no hope. So we decided to pray with them, encourage them and we were able to help them out with some money, for a room for the night.

Others

     The reason I bring this story up, is because it is a classic case of what most people would call 'ministry'. God is love, right? Right!(1 John 4:16) And we have God inside of us, right? Right! (1 John 4:15) So in fact, us loving those people, that night on the street, was really God loving them. We were an extension of Him, we bought His kingdom down onto that side-walk, on that cold winters night, just because we had the love of God inside of us. This is the same for anything you do, with the right heart, you are extending His kingdom and breaking down spiritual barriers with love!



pic courtesy of gsmfiles

Me (You)

    An insight God gave me a while back on love, has really helped to put His love for me into perspective. When we understand His love for us, it is easy minister to others out of love: If you were the only person alive on the earth, Jesus would have still died for you! This is massive. That is how much He loves you and me, as individuals, John 3:16 confirms this, when it says that "... God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son ..."

     Try and imagine an enormous bucket. Now fill it with God's love for you and slowly tip it over your head. Feels good, doesn't it! But wait, this bucket never runs out, it just keeps pouring the love of the Father over you! This is the reality, believe it, it's true!