Full Transcript
We all have people in our lives who struggle with sexual sin and brokenness. And so how do you love that individual? What does love look like?
Well, I think first of all, it looks like humility. It looks like recognizing that we all struggle. I’ve often said that we are all sexually broken. It’s not just people who have a certain sin struggle. We have to realize that we all come before God and fall short of His righteousness.
And that’s so key because it takes us out of this posture of I can save you, I can help you, I’m better than you, but really puts us in the place of walking alongside someone and saying, I can identify with your struggle. Now this is key because you might not struggle with the same thing your friend does, but I guarantee you, you have a besetting sin and it might not even be sexual. I have a sin that I struggle with every single day and I have to know what it looks like to surrender that before the Lord and confess it.
And so that posture of the heart helps me understand my friend who’s struggling with something very different. We have the same heart issue. And Jesus says this over and over again. The scriptures say this over and over again, that we have to take that speck out of our own eye before we can even help to see what our friend is struggling with. And so humility is the first step. You know, I think another step is to speak the truth in love. And there does come a time when I read the scripture and it convicts me.
And it at some level offends me and challenges me to get right with God. And as a good friend, I also want to be challenging my friend to do that. Not in a judgmental way, but a harsh way, but saying, hey, God is who he says he is. And let’s walk according to his way. Let’s love him well. And so there is that time too with gentleness and with humility to speak the truth and love. And then a third thing I’d say is be patient.
because your friend is on his or her own journey. And when you think about, want my friend to change their life right now, that may not happen. And I think a lot of people’s encounters with friendships, particularly around these topics is they have like five weeks to get their life straightened out and then we leave them instead of saying, hey, I’m gonna be that kind of friend who sticks closer than a brother. I’m gonna be in the trenches when you’re struggling, when you fall, I’m still going to love you.
That’s how Jesus loves us and that’s how we’re called to love each other.