Lead with Love.
We aim to be patient, kind, humble, flexible, difficult to offend, merciful, celebrators of good, faithful, hopeful (giving others the benefit of the doubt, assuming the best of others), and resilient.
We lead with love by…
1. the in Others
“We judge ourselves by our intentions, but we judge others by their actions.” —Ralph W. Emmerson
“Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy.” –Thomas Merton
1 Corinthians 13:7 NIV
Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
Question for Reflection—
Is there someone in your life whom you’ve labeled unfairly? What would it look like to reframe their actions and give them the benefit of the doubt?
2. Accepting
Colossians 3:13a VOICE
Put up with one another.
“When one has once fully entered the realm of love, the world — no matter how imperfect — becomes rich and beautiful, it consists solely of opportunities for love.” – Søren Kierkegaard, Works of Love
Question for Reflection—
What imperfect behavior have I seen in someone that the Holy Spirit is inviting me to see as an opportunity to love like Christ? What could that look like?
3: Radical
Colossians 3:13 NLT
Make allowance for each other’s faults. Forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.
“Nothing causes us to so nearly resemble God as the forgiveness of injuries.” –John Chrysostom
“Forgiveness is the Christlike suffering which it is the Christian’s duty to bear.” — Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Luke 23:33-34 NLT
When they came to a place called The Skull, they nailed him to the cross. And the criminals were also crucified—one on his right and one on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”
Forgiveness is not..
1. Forgetting
It is necessary to remember before you can forgive.
2. Denying the hurt.
It is feeling the hurt and working through it with God.
3. Telling them how much they hurt you.
It’s releasing the hurt to Jesus so He can heal you.
4. Instant reconciliation.
It takes two to reconcile, but it takes only one to forgive.
5. Circumventing God’s justice.
It is allowing God to execute His justice in His time and in His way.
6. Excusing wrong behavior.
It is acknowledging that the behavior was wrong and shouldn’t happen again.
7. Waiting for “time to heal all wounds.”
It is clear that time doesn’t always heal wounds; some people will not allow healing.
8. Letting the guilty “off the hook.”
It is moving the guilty from your hook to God’s hook.
9. Stuffing your anger.
It is resolving your anger by releasing the offense to God.
10. A Feeling
It is a choice – an act of the will.
Question for Reflection—
Who in my church do I need to forgive this week? Even if they don’t know it or ask for it.
Answer Key: Believing, Best; Imperfection, Practicing; Forgiveness