God’s love was intended to be demonstrated, not dictated.

Embedded somewhere deeply in our Christian consciousness is the sense that bad things shouldn’t happen to good people. But in Romans 8, Paul taught exactly the opposite: he clearly stated that hardship, famine, persecution, and danger will most certainly prey upon believers. Yet Paul’s comfort to us in light of that harsh reality is the life-giving reality that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.

Every act of kindness, each moment spent in prayer, and every expression of love in the name of Christ pierces the heart of the enemy and sends him into retreat. These are the gentle weapons of the kingdom.

What if we actually demonstrated God’s love for the world instead of just talking about it?

We have not been promised rescue from this world; we have been commanded to go and take back this world. The Great Commission is Jesus’ call to storm the gates of hell and to liberate his children, establishing his kingdom.

One of the sure signs that we have been co-opted by our culture is that, like frogs in the proverbial kettle, we have grown comfortable with things that should shock us and mobilize us to action. We no longer feel the heat of outrage against things that anger God. We have so embraced the American dream that we can no longer see or feel the world’s nightmare of poverty, suffering, and hopelessness.

So many people are crying out to God for His help. Might you be the answer to one of their prayers?

The beautiful simplicity of our faith is that it distills down to the exact same bottom line for both the brilliant theologian and the five-year-old child: love God and love each other – period.

The idea behind The Hole in Our Gospel is quite simple. It’s basically the belief that being a Christian, or a follower of Jesus Christ, requires much more than just having a personal and transforming relationship with God. It also entails a public and transforming relationship with the world.

Don’t fail to do something just because you can’t do everything.