1Peter 1:22 Having purified your souls in the obedience of the truth through the Spirit to unpretended brotherly love, love one another fervently out of a pure heart,
The next area we're going to be looking at is how we are to treat our brothers and sisters in Christ. One of the alumni asked if I would write on how to bring people back into the Church. Specifically those who have been hurt by Church members. I think this is a good topic area to do just that, but first let's look at how we should be treating each other. If our actions toward each other are not as they should be, we'll just chase the wounded members right back out of the Church again.
The Church was intended to be a haven for Christians to go to after a week of dealing with the worldly battles. It is suppose to be a safe place where a person can be rejuvenated and encouraged so they can go out and face another week of serving others, standing up for what is pure and right, and helping others see Christ's love for them. Attending Church should be like getting together with family, with God as the head of the family. In a family where Christ is the center of the family, everyone is loved just they way they are. God made each of us with different talents, looks, and personalities. We each have our own opinions and ways of doing things, but with Jesus, we will love each other and find the beauty in each person's differences, just as God intended them to be.
Unfortunately, that is not the way our churches are. Our churches have become battlegrounds and the wounded have to leave in order to heal. It's no wonder Jesus hasn't come back yet. How can we spread the Gospel to others when our own church family is out of order? We can't bring the hurting into the Church when we're just going to hurt them more. We can't bring someone in out of the cold if our own church has nothing to offer but a cold shoulder.
There is a real need for Christians to throw themselves down at Jesus' feet and to let the Spirit take control of our hearts so we can have pure and holy love for everyone. Love that isn't being shown only because we want to put on a good front to entice someone to our church. It has to be real, pure love that continues at all times, in all situations. It starts by obeying and submitting to the Holy Spirit so He can make the changes in us and purify our hearts.