God calls us to a sacrificial love. Jesus told the Twelve, \u201cGreater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends\u201d (John 15:13 ESV). Jesus loved us so much that he endured an excruciating death to purchase our redemption, but he never compromised on what he knew to be true about himself, about God the Father, or about us and our need for salvation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His love didn\u2019t mean that he ignored our sinfulness: \u201cVery truly, I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin \u2026 so if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed\u201d (John 8:34, 36 NIV). His love didn\u2019t mean that he downplayed the truth about salvation: \u201cI am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me\u201d (John 14:6 NIV). His love didn\u2019t mean that he dismissed the cost of discipleship: \u201cWhoever wants to be my disciple, must deny themselves, take up their cross and follow me\u201d (Luke 9:23 NIV).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Too many people buy into our culture\u2019s definition of love: \u201cAccept every action I take and every behavior I choose, or you don\u2019t love me.\u201d Some medical and counseling professionals call this \u201caffirming care.\u201d But that kind of unconditional acceptance isn\u2019t what the Bible means by unconditional love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes, true love \u201cnever dies\u201d (1 Corinthians 13:8). And yes, God promises to love us with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3). But that doesn\u2019t mean he accepts and approves of all behaviors and mindsets. Jesus didn\u2019t accept sin in others; he urged them to repent and to pursue holiness. He told the woman caught in adultery, \u201cGo now and leave your life of sin\u201d (John 8:11 NIV). First Corinthians 13:4 says, \u201cLoves endures with patience and serenity,\u201d but it also \u201crejoices with the truth [when right and truth prevail] (v. 6 AMP).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Also consider 1 Corinthians 13:4\u20135 in The Message: \u201cLove cares more for others than for self. Love doesn\u2019t want what it doesn\u2019t have. Love doesn\u2019t strut, doesn\u2019t have a swelled head, doesn\u2019t force itself on others, isn\u2019t always \u2018me first.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Twisting true love into self-serving \u201cI love you if \u2026\u201d ultimatums is a tactic the enemy uses to get us to exchange true love for manipulation. If a loved one says, \u201cIf you love me, you will \u2026\u201d that isn\u2019t true love either. True love guides others toward God\u2019s best for them\u2014the person he designed them to be, the person who has a unique God-given role in his kingdom. True love is about encouraging one another to \u201cstrip off every unnecessary weight and the sin which so easily and cleverly entangles us \u2026 [looking away from all that will distract us and] focusing our eyes on Jesus\u201d (Hebrews 12:1\u20132 AMP).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As you seek to love your LGBT family member or friend with the sacrificial love of Jesus, ask God daily to help you ground that love in truth. Be quick to tell your loved one that you\u2019ll always love them but also stand firm on the ways you\u2019ll demonstrate that love: pray for them, treat them with respect, and set boundaries. When God opens the door, tell your loved one how God is demonstrating his power and love as you navigate life. As I wrote in my recent book, Out of Darkness, and into the Light, \u201cOur truth-loving, wise God can show us how to stand firm in his ways and be loving at the same time.\u201d Love cannot be separated from truth. Ask Him daily to help you live out that principle as you interact with your LGBT loved one.<\/p>\n
God calls us to a sacrificial love. Jesus told the Twelve, \u201cGreater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends\u201d (John 15:13 ESV). Jesus loved us so much that he endured an excruciating death to purchase our redemption, but he never compromised on what he knew to be … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4086","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Denise","author_link":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/author\/denise\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"God calls us to a sacrificial love. Jesus told the Twelve, \u201cGreater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends\u201d (John 15:13 ESV). Jesus loved us so much that he endured an excruciating death to purchase our redemption, but he never compromised on what he knew to be…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4086","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4086"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4086\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4087,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4086\/revisions\/4087"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}