Love and spiritual maturity
Tue, May 26, 2009 at 15:29 We were asked a question today. 'Do you love people because you want them to become spiritually mature, or do you want people to become spiritually mature because you love them?' It is a great question. So often our discipleship is process driven rather than person driven, and very often our acts of love are simply mechanisms to produce change in people. 'Surely their is nothing wrong with loving someone in order that they become spiritually mature?' I hear you say. The distinction is subtle, and important.
Motivation is crucial. What changes peoples behaviour is peoples attitudes and feelings. What determines what we feel and our attitudes is what we believe. If I love someone in order to bring about change in them (on the surface looking great) I am in danger of affecting change in behaviour on the outside, which will not affect feelings and attitudes or beliefs. If I love them because they are made in the image of God and are loveable which leads to spiritual maturity, I have affected something that lasts becasue it springs from faith and belief. I can not produce in someone else what has not been produced in me.
This is so important and central to our discipleship. So often we can think about discipleship as projects and programs. But is it about loving people with the love we have been shown. It is essentially about relationship. Maybe our approach to discipleship (and therefore evangelism) needs a rethink...
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