God's Lost Heart

Sunday before last, Nate preached a great sermon titled "God's Lost Heart." In it, he talked about God's desire to reach the lost and how we should be moved by the Gospel to share God's message of salvation with those around us who do not know. God is motivated by love. When He reaches out to the lost, offering salvation, He does so out of love. "For God so LOVED the world that He gave His only begotten Son..." God reaches out from a position of love. When we reaches out to Christians who are straying or wrong, he again is motivated by love. "He whom the Lord loves, he disciplines" The lost sheep, the prodigal son, both are treated with love not based on themselves, but based on Himself. Is that our heart toward the lost, whether it be the unsaved, or those Christians who are not right with God? Do we reach out in love, motivated by love. There are Christians who seem more interested in condemning the lost (who are already under condemnation) rather than to reach them with God's love. Jesus didn't come to condemn the world, He came to seek and to save that which was lost. That is what we should be doing. And when we have someone who is not right with God, the Bible commands us to do it with a spirit of gentleness. Even if they are not being nice to us or receive us, we are not excused from responding in love. After all, according to 1 Cor. 13, love does not take into account a wrong suffered, but bears all things. Are you a man or woman after God's own heart? His heart is for the lost. Lord, fill us with your Spirit who reaches out to seek and to save those who are lost.