Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment of all and He replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40 NIV).
If all the law and the prophets hang on the commandments of love it goes a long way to prove to us how vital love is to a Christian and Christianity as a whole.
Now, what does it mean to win by love? It means using love as a weapon to win in whatever situation. Today’s blog post will be exploring the use of love as a weapon of evangelism, both to win people over to Christ and keep those already in the fold…because essentially, the end goal of evangelism is discipleship.
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”
Matt 28:19 NIV
The best, most effective and, I dare say, only way to win anyone over to Christ is to show love, the love of God. Love helps us to be better evangelists of Christ. The apostles functioned in love and through that, they were able to become such great blessings to the body of Christ. Likewise Jesus. Some unbelievers are not necessarily paying attention to the message of Christ that they hear, they are paying attention to the message of Christ that they can see –love.
Love helps us to be better evangelists of Christ.
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Many Christians are misrepresenting Christ and what the church ought to be because they do not function in love. Note that I didn’t say that they lack it. No believer lacks love because it is part of the fruit of the spirit which take residence in our hearts the moment we come to Christ (Gal 5:22). But until we choose to groom it and walk in it, it would lie dormant in us.
People are leaving the fold because the love is missing. All of our devotion becomes useless without love and our faith becomes religion without love. Take away love from Christianity and all you have left is the bony skeleton of religion. Apostle Paul said, “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal” (1Cor. 13:1), that is an annoying distraction. A Christian without love soon becomes an annoying distraction. This is no way to win people over to Christ. Our salvation story started from love and if we must carry the good news of salvation to others then we must align with its origin.
“All of our devotion becomes useless without love and our faith becomes religion without love. Take away love from Christianity and all you have left is the bony skeleton of religion.”
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“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.” John 13:34-35 NIV
The way to represent Christ is by love for one another. If we fail to represent Christ aright we will definitely fail in presenting Him aright.
Love is not dormant. It is active and it will definitely lead you to do what is good. Love will lead you to do great works. Whenever Jesus was moved by compassion, the bible records that he fed the hungry, healed the sick, and encouraged them with words.
So this is the template we ought to follow as well. Our love must be put to action. The simplest way to show love is to others to pray for them. Jesus showed us love by praying for us. The disciples did the same. It shouldn’t be different for us either. (2Tim. 2:1-6; John 17:20-26)
Another way to practicalize our love is by giving. God’s love gave and because of that gift, we are victorious over sin and death. Because of that gift, we have come to know Christ. As you pray for others, if you are in the place to help their needs, do so. (John 3:16; James 2:16)
Finally, our words should reflect love. Be kind, let your words be full of grace and seasoned with salt. Jesus’ words always brought encouragement. His words healed wounds and set the captives free. His words reflected His love. As His children, we shouldn’t be doing less. (Col. 4:6)
It is the Holy Spirit that helps us to love as Christ does. To love like Christ –unwavering and entirely –is humanly impossible. Christ’s standard of love is set so high that we can only meet up to it with the help of the Holy Spirit. And He is ever ready to help. His sole purpose is to help us become more like Jesus. If we are attentive and follow Him patiently as He guides, then we will surely be able to love as we are expected. (John 14:15-18)
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
1 Cor. 13:13
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