It's All About Love

The key to effective witnessing is LOVE. We are told in the Bible to love our God, to love our families, to love one another but the most difficult thing we are told to do is to love the unlovable.

Matthew 5:44-47
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?

It may be difficult for you to feel love for a not so clean, not so sweet smelling, homeless person. Feeling love is not the key. The broken spirit does not require that you have a warm, fuzzy feeling for them. They require love that is a verb and not a noun. In other words we must practice our love even when we don’t necessarily feel it. This, of course, must not come across as a “ holier than thou” attitude. If we focus on our love for Jesus, and the fact that we know that He loves that person, it will be much easier to feel a real empathy for the lost person in front of you. Like any other activity, the more that we practise love, the easier it gets to feel it and to show it. (Note: Loving the unlovable is not just a suggestion, it is a command)

Matthew 25:42-45
For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

The Correlation Between Forgivness, Gratitude, and Love

Before we can begin to feel real love, we must feel forgivness and gratitude in our heart.

“Our ability to receive forgiveness is directly related to our willingness to give forgiveness. Forgiveness unlocks gratitude which unleashes love. To activate gratitude we must remember the good memories, create new memories and see the work of God in the painful episodes.” (Pastor Roy Hubert)