Landing it: love, not vulnerability; beware quippy phrases
The rounding thought: 'I think that God does want to be in a love relationship with you... I said it and it irked a bunch of people and I think it's right' - with two cautions: external emotional manipulation to control people 'in the name of Jesus,' and internal adjudication of 'is this what love feels like?' when you feel crappy. 'There's not a day that existed or that will ever exist where God does not love you.' He died for you, did everything - but 'he's not like sitting at the edge of his seat... He's not vulnerable towards you... He's still God. He's still sovereign... I want more than anything for you to come and be part of the kingdom. You get to not be. What a wild love.' Final word: the easier the phrase, the riskier - 'even the Bible did not propose to go, here's a series of quippy phrases that will guide your whole life.'
More on Love
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Confetti and lasers: what should God's people be known for?
- Do we want to be known as the confetti and lasers people?
- What should God's people be known for?
Ben redirects to the docket's denomination question: when someone hears Silas's church described as 'the confetti and lasers people,' should that sting?
From No. 598 · Emphasis | Accountability, Worship and Praying with Strangers
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Dear LFTP: saying "I love you" too soon
- Is there a recommended timeframe for saying "I love you" in a new relationship?
Mike reads a letter from a man who reconnected with a woman he dated in the 1980s and told her he loved her too soon, then tried to walk it back to "caring and affection."
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Putting orthodoxy over love
- Does holding orthodox doctrine conflict with loving people?
The hosts take up the list's 'putting orthodoxy over love' item. One host argues orthodoxy IS love — communicating doctrine God intended people to know is itself an act of love — but warns against wielding doctrine as a tool of manipulation without the heart of God.
From No. 458 · 12 to 13 Mistakes From Wildin
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Church charity and the discernment line
- Is it wrong for a church to ask help-seekers to attend a service before giving aid?
Mike reads 2 Thessalonians 3:9-11 — "if anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat" — and the hosts revisit the Canadian church that offers a grocery gift card to help-seekers…
From No. 452 · False Teachers and Freeloaders