commandment , that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ , and love one another , as he gave us commandment .”
1 John 4:11 – “ Beloved , if God so loved us , we ought also to love one another .”
We must never try to get away from the fact that we are commanded to love each other . In all of the above verses as well as so many more throughout His Word , we find commands to love , with no exceptions . We have no justification and no excuses , we must love one another .
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO LOVE A PERSON WHO ’ S LIFE- STYLE IS DEEPLY ROOTED IN SIN ?
The biggest mistake that the church makes as Christians is forgetting the life that Christ saved it from , especially those who have walked the righteous life for many years . Living a life of protocol in everyday religious duties , people find themselves shunning the things of the world out of disgust for them . Some people get so caught up in the hatred of gay issues , that it is forgotten that the homosexual is loved by God as well . Or being so tired of seeing sexual exploitation on television , that there feels like a need to do away with regular programming , to stick solely with Christian entertainment ; all the while forgetting about the love that God has for the prostitutes and other exploiters . God has never been a respecter of persons , and just as He loved us when were sinners , of the vilest kind , so does He love the sinners in our everyday lives . It would do us well to remember that He is depending on us to pray for , witness to and love these .
Luke 6:31-38 says : “ And as ye would that men should do to you , do ye also to them likewise , For if ye love them which love you , what thank have ye ? For sinners also love those that love them . And if ye do good to them which do good to you , what thank have ye ? For sinners also do even the same . And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive , what thank have ye ? For sinners also lend to sinners , to receive as much again . But love your enemies and do good , and lend , hoping for nothing again , and your reward shall be great , and ye shall be the children of the Highest : for He is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil . Be ye therefore merciful , as your Father also is merciful . Judge not , and ye shall not be judged ; condemn not and ye shall not be condemned : forgive , and ye shall be forgiven : Give , and it shall be given unto you ; good measure , pressed down , and shaken together , and running over , shall men give into your bosom . For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again .”
This scripture alone gives us the perfect reason why we should love the worst of the worst . We were / are all at one time sinners and fall short of the glory of God , but He still loved us enough to save us from ourselves and from an eternity in Hell without Him . We must remember who we once were and ask ourselves ; “ Who loved me enough to pray for me when I was at my lowest point in life ?”
HOW DO YOU PRAY FOR ONE WHO IS ROOTED IN SIN ?
In order to pray for the lost , we have to remember that we need to carry a burden for them . If you don ’ t feel that you have a burden for the lost , then ask the Father to give you one . We should all be burdened by the fact that someone may die and go to Hell if they refuse to repent and turn from their wicked ways ; that should bring us all to our knees . When you look upon a person with disgust in your heart because you are focused on their lifestyle , try to focus on them as a baby in their mother ’ s arms . Picture them as a toddler on their bike for the first time trying to master the training wheels . Focus on those souls , because they are the same . Somehow , somewhere , they lost their way and had no direction home . Have a burden for the lost . We must pray fervently for their souls to be saved . Pray often for them as you would yourself , actually more so .
James 5:16 says : “ Confess your faults one to another , and pray one for another , that ye may be healed . The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much .”
Let ’ s remember that we do have our own faults ; we are not perfect either , and our prayers could save another person ’ s soul from damnation . That is truly availing much ! Also , remember when