In this video, Matt Adams challenges us to return to the heart of our faith and to remember that Jesus calls us to see others as image bearers of God. We must do better.

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~Transcript below~

I had a brief conversation with a brother-in-Christ recently.  He’s dealing with some really brutal stuff.  He’s hurting.  His family is hurting, and yet, throughout the entire conversation, he approached his situation with love and with grace and with a desire for change, for improvement.  As I walked away from the conversation, I was left with a singular thought that has been with me all day.

We must do better.  

Follower of Jesus, we must BE better.

It’s time to put away the labels.  It’s time to set aside the “us vs. them” mentality.  It’s time to step out from behind our screens and our masks and begin to see people again.  I mean really SEE people again, to recognize them as image bearers of the God who created them, as human beings whose value is found in that creation, not in their ability to line up along the right side of some arbitrary line.  We say that we love God, many of us declare it proudly on our clothing and our social media, but we forget that loving God means loving His people.  It means loving our neighbors as we love ourselves, and we have lots of neighbors.

The republican next door… The democrat down the street.  They are my neighbors, and they were created in the image of God.

The baptist… the catholic… the pentecostal… the person who walks out their faith a little differently than I do.  They are my neighbors, and they were created in the image of God.

The person who doesn’t smell nice… the one who lives a lifestyle that I don’t agree with… the drunk… the addict… the adulterer… They are my neighbors, and they were created in the image of God.  

We have to adjust our vision and BE better.  I can hear the arguments now: “But I’m trying to teach them what the Bible says,” and “what I’m doing IS love,” or “I’m just telling the truth.”  

Every one of those statements may be true, but if we have not taken time to sincerely love them first, outside of any agenda,  then THEY. DON’T. CARE.  

Discipline, outside of a loving relationship, is nothing but abuse.  

We have to love first.  We have to follow the pattern set by our Messiah.  One of the vilest, most hated groups in His society was the tax collector, and what did Jesus do? When others judged, he called Matthew to follow him in love. And Matthew found that irresistible!  

Christ loves him, first, and then makes a disciple out of him.  

This pattern is repeated over and over again.  

We have got to love first, to return to the Biblical principles that should guide our faith:

Philippians 2:3 –  Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

James 1:19-20 –    Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 – Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Proverbs 6:16-19 – There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood; a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.

Yep.  That last one stings, especially when we consider Christ’s elevation of the Law, equating hatred with murder.  We are called to be more.  We are called to be set apart, holy, a treasured possession of an Almighty God.  

We must BE better.  

When the world turns to anger, we turn to love.  

When the world turns to judgment, we turn to grace.  When the world holds a grudge, we turn to forgiveness.  

This does not mean that we live unprincipled lives condoning all manner of behavior. 

 It means that we love first, trusting that if we follow the commands of God, then He, in His infinite wisdom, will work all things together for our ultimate good.  

We are either the disciples of Christ or we are not and the litmus test is simple and can be found in John 13: A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

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About the Seeking Scripture Team: We are a group of believers from all walks of the faith, saved by grace alone through faith in our Messiah. While we are of one accord in many things, we are all works in progress and lifelong learners. Therefore the opinions of one may not always represent the opinions of all.

Matt Adams
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