I had someone tell me that people would not be pleased with my word about a particular subject. That the church would reject the word I gave. I have never found myself to care whether a word is rejected or accepted. What is more important to me is whether my community accepts me or rejects me. Whether they care about me. Like others I have made my share of mistakes and perhaps I will again. Actually, it is proved that if you are still breathing, making a mistake is high on the list!

I want to believe that what drives my words is the Lord Himself, but so often what I say is taken to be prophetic if I am having a conversation and desiring to flesh something out. I had a couple of those conversations this week. Fleshing something out. A dialog. Not prophetic so to speak. But a conversation. Yes, I see things. Yes, I can see. But sometimes I want to just have a conversation.

So, when I saw my position attacked this weekend I realized these folks do not know me. They do not know my flavor, if you will. They saw it as an attack against the “mainline” church and I was just sharing what I saw. Many years ago as a child there was a song by The Animals, Please Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood. I have mentioned it before. And this morning I mention it again, because so much of what is happening in the body of Christ that is negative is the dumbing down of conversations to sound bites. Those snippets of speech that cause division rather than causing you to find out more about the person.

Last night Nik Wallenda walked on tight rope between two towers. There was no one to share his experience on a personal level. A man, gravity, a rope and the wind. And I watched what I will call “stupid people” cry out for his death. To fall. I sat here and thought, “how could you?” It is not that you do not have the right to be dumb, but it signifies a deeper issue. We have removed the value of human life.

I watched the story of a young lady who killed herself and I saw some of the church get rude, get angry, get mean.

Tomorrow we vote across this great nation. The polarization is high. The name calling is voluminous. At this present rate we  need no enemy to do anything but wait and swoop in and pick up the pieces.

I used to ask “would you say that if they were standing here?” But now I know they would. We have sought to find our value in a party, a team, a job. But nothing like that satisfies, so one leads to another.

A few months ago I wrote a column called “You Are Better Than That”. I wrote another called “The Consequences Are Real”. While I am concerned for the world, I am very  concerned for the church. Our divisiveness is reaching an all time high. No longer are we satisfied with one another’s company. We are looking to make something of something.

I am thankful for our church fellowship and our family gatherings. I fully recognize others who do the same. And here is what I feel the Lord is saying this morning. They will know we are Christians by our love.  John 13:35 That word “love” is the word agape. A word that happened first in the kingdom. Unconditional love.

The issue at hand is we have embraced the 3 other types of love: the phileo or platonic love; the storge or love a parent feels; the eros, the passionate love of romance, but agape has a requirement of seeing beyond the flaws, the disappointments.

They may know you, but do they know your love? I think if we did we not cheer on death and make excuses. We would not divide and separate. We would not allow the damage we are seeing.

Today I challenge you with this question-will they know you are His by your love?

Written by Lee Johndrow

Lee is the Senior Leader of Abundant Grace Fellowship Church in Keene, NH

He is the father of five wonderful children. Married for over 26 years to his wife Tina. Loving life with family, friends, faith, fun and food!