How Do We Love?

How do you show the love of Christ to the lost?

Think about what Jesus did. He ate with, walked with, and had extreme patience in dealing with the sinners of His time. Christ knew how to love them where they were while never sacrificing the message of the Gospel: We are all sinners deserving of death and condemnation, but placing our lives and faith in Jesus Christ who endured God's wrath as a substitute for us, will cleanse us for eternity.
How do we communicate that?

We have all heard the Lord's Prayer: "Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name..." But do you know what the very next thing Jesus said to the disciples who had asked him to teach them how to pray? "For if you forgive people their wrongdoing, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. But if you don't forgive people, Your Father will not forgive your wrongdoing." Matthew 6:14-15 (Mark 11:25-26)

We must remember sin is sin; wrong is wrong; and truth is truth. It doesn't matter what we have done or what has been done to us- God can forgive all, and we are called to do the same. Please hear me that forgiving someone does not mean placing yourself in harms way. Even Jesus told his disciples, "Look, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be shrewd as serpents and harmless as doves." Matthew 10:16

So the question I ask of you today is how do you be shrewd, harmless, bearers of the love of Jesus Christ?