An Ambassador of Love

God is love. Youve probably been able to quote that scripture ever since you
toddled out of your frst little Sunday school class.
But come on now, be honest. Is God really love to you
!e isnt in the minds of most people. "hey thin# God is followin$ them
around with a bi$ stic#, ready to smac# them over the spiritual head every
time they sin.
I dont even have to as# them to #now it. %ll I have to do is watch how they
treat other people. "heyre smac#in$ everyone around them with their own
little stic# of criticism and &ud$ment. "heyre constantly hurtin$ and bein$
hurt.
Its a painful way to live. Ive tried it. I wasnt a sinner at the time, either. I
was a born'a$ain child of God. I #new about and lived by faith. But Ill tell
you, it was hard wor#. %nd it produced very limited results.
"hen some years a$o, God be$an to reveal somethin$ to me that chan$ed
everythin$. Its a revelation that is still unfoldin$ to this day. % revelation of
!is love.
One Mans Cry
"hats a revelation desperately needed in the (hurch today. You see, as a
body we havent e)pressed to the world the love of God. *eve told them
that !es moral, that !es ri$ht, that !es powerful and a hundred other
thin$s. But weve failed to e+ectively demonstrate to them the life'chan$in$
fact that !e loves them.
Yet when you loo# at the life of ,esus, !e communicated love more than
anythin$ else. !is whole mission on earth was to e)press-to embody and
personify-the love of God.
!e went to e)treme len$ths to prove to even the most sinful of men that God
loved them. .u#e / tells us of a time when ,esus had preached and
ministered all day then !e $ot into a boat and said, 0.et us $o over unto the
other side of the la#e1 2.u#e /3445. !e didnt tell them why !e wanted to $o
over there6 !e &ust said Go.
It wasnt an easy trip. "hey encountered hurricane force winds on the way
that were so stron$ the disciples thou$ht they were $oin$ to die until ,esus
rebu#ed the storm and put a stop to it.
7o you #now who they met when they arrived at the other side of that la#e
% man so flled with evil spirits that no man and no chains could hold him. %
man who lived in the tombs. *ho thrived o+ of bodies and carcasses, cuttin$
and beatin$ himself. % man who wanted to be free but couldnt.
*hen that man saw ,esus, he ran toward !im probably intendin$ to #ill !im.
But when he approached ,esus, he ran into the presence of God and those
demonic powers fell on the $round in sub&ection.
8i$ht then and there, ,esus delivered the madman from the tombs. !e drove
out the demons and set him free.
"hin# about the e)tremes ,esus went to, to reach that man. *hy did !e do
it *hy did !e travel across the la#e when !e was so tired !e fell asleep
shortly after they set sail *hy did !e $o throu$h the storm
Im convinced its because God heard the cry of one desperate man and said
to ,esus, 0Go $et him. I dont care if he has been livin$ out of the $raves. I
dont care how bound up by perversion he is. I dont care what he loo#s li#e,
smells li#e or acts li#e. I love him, so $o $et him and set him free.1
Burning Up With Love
%$ain and a$ain throu$hout !is ministry, ,esus went to e)treme len$ths to
prove to us the love of God. 9ltimately !e even went into hell for us-a place
far worse than any $raveyard that wild man ever inhabited. !e faced death
and the $rave. He gave up His union with God in order to carry the sin that
Adam had brought into the world.
:y friend, God loves you with an ama;in$ love< !e didnt have you born
a$ain &ust so !e could $et you o+ !is conscience. "hat may sound funny but
when you thin# about it, many people have that mentality.
"heyve been tau$ht by reli$ion that God saves us &ust so we can praise !im
forever. ,ust so we can live for !im. In other words, God saved us to satisfy
!is own e$otistical, selfsh need to have someone tell !im how $reat !e is all
the time.
=o< God isnt li#e that<
>phesians tells us !e redeemed us in order to restore our fellowship with !im
so that in the a$es to come !e could show us the wonders of !is love and
$race 2see >phesians ?3@'?A5.
Gods heart cries out to those who are in sin, to those who have been hurt
and put in bonda$e by it. !e wants to brin$ them into !is presence. !e
wants to be for them all that !e is.
!e #nows how wonderful and marvelous !e can cause our lives to be. !e has
a drivin$ compassion to be with us and to bless us. "he Bible says God is a
fre from the loins up and a fre from the loins down. !e is burnin$ up with
love<
Put Away Your ti!"
Because of that fery compassion, (olossians ?3?B tells us that 0C"he DatherE
has delivered and drawn us to !imself out of the control and the dominion of
dar#ness and has transferred us into the #in$dom of the Son of !is love1
2The Amplifed Bible5.
.et that sin# in a moment. You and I are now native citi;ens of the #in$dom
of love< .ove should be Fowin$ out of us toward others, &ust li#e it Fowed
from God toward us.
"he %postle Gaul said God has reconciled to !imself the whole world and
$iven unto us that messa$e of reconciliation 2see II (orinthians H3?/'4?5. God
has made the whole world ri$ht with !im. %nd since you are born of !is
nature and !is love, it should be in you to do the same thin$ with those
around you-to draw them close to you and to love them.
0*ell, I couldnt possibly $et close to those people< "heyre livin$ in $ross
sin<1
Get them saved then< 7ont beat them with your &ud$ment stic#. 7ont try to
punish them for their sin. ,esus already too# the punishment for them. %s I
,ohn 434 says, 0!e Cthat same ,esus !imselfE is the propitiation 2the atonin$
sacrifce5 for our sins, and not for ours alone but also for Cthe sins ofE the
whole world1 2The Amplifed Bible5.
*hen were tempted to be harsh or critical, we would do well to remember
that. "o thin# about the fact that ,esus shed !is blood for that person
re$ardless of how u$ly they are actin$ or how wron$ they are. "hen we
should as# ourselves, 0Is this how ,esus would spea# to this person Is this
the tone of voice !e would use1
*hen ,esus met the madman at the tombs, !e didnt critici;e and berate
him. !e loved him. !e understood that the man was bound and driven by
devils. !e was a person who needed help-not condemnation.
Ieep that in mind when youre dealin$ with someone you thin# is wron$.
(onsider him. (onsider what hes $oin$ throu$h. If you dont #now what he is
$oin$ throu$h, then do one of two thin$s3 either fnd out or #eep your mouth
shut.
7ont hurt his feelin$s in the name of bein$ ri$ht. "he presence of God is not
involved in that. .ove $oes out of the way to see to it that peoples feelin$s
arent hurt. It isnt touchy and it doesnt cause hurts.
A Common #e!eption
*hen youre outside of love youre outside of the will of God, no matter how
&ustifed you feel you are.
I ,ohn 43J'?A puts it this way3 0*hoever says he is in the .i$ht and CyetE
hates his brother...is in dar#ness even until now. *hoever loves his
brother...abides 2lives5 in the .i$ht, and in It or in him there is no occasion for
stumblin$ or cause for error or sin1 2"he %mplifed Bible5.
:ost of us would deny the fact that we hate anyone because hate is such a
stron$ term. But the truth is, if were not e)ercisin$ the love of God toward
the people around us, we are hatin$ them. "here is no in between, only
varyin$ de$rees of intensity.
"hus, when we fail to act in love, were in dar#ness. "he sad thin$ about it is,
most of the time we dont even #now it. It is, as Groverbs ?K3?4 says, the
0...way which seemeth ri$ht unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of
death.1
You dont wa#e up and thin#, 0*ell, I believe Ill be wron$ today.1 =o, it often
comes under the $uise of helpin$ someone. Dor e)ample, have you ever felt
compelled to correct someone 0in order to help them1 You may thin#, This
may seem harsh, but its okay because theyll be better o in the long run.
Ive even seen people in the ministry critici;e, step on or hurt those they
wor# with in order to accomplish a certain ministry $oal. Its never all ri$ht to
disre$ard people, no matter how &ust the cause. >ven thou$h you cannot
#eep some people from bein$ o+ended, it should never occur because of
your insensitivity or la;iness where the love wal# is concerned.
If you are not endeavorin$ to $row and wal# in love with the people around
you, you are in dar#ness and you are deceived. *ithout love, whatever you
do will fall short of the $lory of God. %nd without the $lory of God in what you
do, you mi$ht as well not bother to do it at all.
Choose Your Wor$d
%part from the inFuence of God, the world has no love< %ll the 0love1 it has
to o+er is full of $reed and possessiveness, interwoven with lust.
But you are no lon$er a citi;en of dar#ness. You are no lon$er a citi;en of this
world. You are a citi;en of the #in$dom of the Son of Gods love.
Yes, you still live in this world which is under the inFuence of the wic#ed one.
Its still #noc#in$ at your door, puttin$ pressure on you to follow its selfsh
pattern of livin$.
"he question is, which world will you yield to *ill you be an ambassador of
love or will you adapt to the hateful world around you
If you choose to be an ambassador of love, youll have an awesome impact
on the world around you. *hat #ind of impact "he same #ind that ,esus had
when !e wal#ed the earth. *ith every deed of #indness, every $esture of
compassion, every word of love, youll brin$ Gods very presence on the
scene.
So stand up on the inside and say, 0%s of this day, I ma#e a decision that Im
wal#in$ in love. Ill not put myself frst. Ill put others before me. Ill stop
critici;in$ and start reachin$ out in compassion.1
"hen stir up the !oly Spirit inside you by prayin$ in the spirit. .et !im show
you how to truly love. !es so creative. !e can tell you how to be lovin$ to
the people who $ive you the hardest time of all.
!ell $ive you the power to $o and do somethin$ nice for them. 7o you #now
what will happen when you do that "heyll probably be u$ly to you a$ain.
But the power of love will enable you to rise above it and it wont matter.
*hat will matter, however, is that somethin$ eternal will have happened.
"he very love and presence of %lmi$hty God will have invaded that situation.
%nd that love can do thin$s nothin$ else can do. .ove brea#s chains. 7elivers
captives. !eals wounds. Brin$s people to$ether.
.ove ma#es the impossible possible. Because love never fails.