It is a beautiful thing when an ethos of love is at the core of a local congregation.
Beautiful because it is an expression of obedience to Christ. Beautiful because it is a powerful witness to an unbelieving world. Beautiful because it is a sign that Christians are being who they are designed to be, living in ways that encourage one another to flourish in the faith. Beautiful because it is an act of worship—a hallmark of being a set-apart people who seek to live lives worthy of our calling (Ephesians 4:1).
Love is an intensely practical characteristic, and it is one that works itself out in the care of others. Love means that people will feel able to and be wanting to share their lives, not just the gospel, as Paul did with the Thessalonian church (1 Thessalonians 2:8). Love means that people will experience freedom to be honest about the ups and downs of life, knowing that those around them will respond by rejoicing with those who rejoice and weeping with those who weep (Romans 12:15).
Love gives people the courage to bring dark things into the light, confident that as they speak of their battle with sin, they will be met with humility and grace and pointed back to the Father, who loves to welcome them home (Luke 15:11-32). Love propels believers to set aside selfish ambition and genuinely want what is best for those around them (Philippians 2:3-8). Love spurs people on to growth in Christ-likeness (Ephesians 3:17-19).
We see the faithful nature of that love in the story of a woman with a chronic illness, often unable to leave the family home, who was regularly visited, cared for and prayed for by her church family over many years. The fact she could not get out and could not serve on Sundays did not diminish the ways in which she was valued and included in the body of Christ. Meals were prepared, time was spent with her, biblical encouragement was shared, and songs were listened to together until she went home to be with the Lord.
We see the transformational nature of that love in the story of an older man who had been addicted to alcohol for many years, who was welcomed into the local church. He had pushed so many people away over the years. His family had long given up on him—they could not take his lies and outbursts any longer—but the care of Christ and his community gradually broke through. As this man was loved, he saw the power of the cross, and he began to believe that change was actually possible. He learned to be honest, he learned to find other ways of dealing with the pain, and he learned to live a truly loving life, even able to reach out to his children once more and genuinely ask for their forgiveness.
We see the compassionate nature of love in the story of a woman who was bereaved in her early 30s, her husband taken in a tragic car accident. Left to bring up her three young children by herself, she must have felt as if her life had come crashing down—but her church family rallied round. Life was done together: school runs, shopping, play dates and parenting decisions all became things she could do with others when she wanted the support. She had friends to cry with, to talk with, to pray with and to grow with. The church cared, and she and her kids thrived.
We see the unexpected humility of love when a man who had begun controlling his wife—expecting her to do his bidding and to live life in obedience to his desires—began to see the damage he had done to his family. Instead of making excuses or covering it up, he was won over by the culture of repentance in the church. Little by little he saw that his reluctance to admit his faults went against the grain of Christian living. He began to see that the marriages around him, in which the husbands were humble and gentle and quick to put their family above their reputations, were the ones that were flourishing. And when he finally admitted the horrors of his idol of control and sought help, he came to taste a personal freedom and a depth of connection with those around him that he had never known before. His family were able to thrive once more.
Love really does change everything.
This is an edited extract from A Church That Cares: A Biblical Guide to Loving One Another Well by Helen Thorne-Allenson.
