Horizontal Relationship

Love God Love People

We have been journeying through a series of studies based on the Principle found through out the Bible Love God, Love People so in celebration of that. Kegan had an idea that we share the popular Christian song

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Love God Love People we began a few weeks ago exploring this principle of scripture.

In week one we considered the Vertical relationship. The relationship between you and God. We learned that no-one loves you more than God.

The benefits of God's Love are unmeasurable

This Relationship allows the others to take place

Last week we discovered a relationship that has to do with your Identity or the way that you see yourself. we called that The Internal Relationship. We said that when you see you like God sees you it is apparent that You are valuable.

This week we will explore one more relationship. The Horizontal relationship.

Luke 10:25–28 CSB

Then an expert in the law stood up to test him, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the law?” he asked him. “How do you read it?” He answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,” and “your neighbor as yourself.” “You’ve answered correctly,” he told him. “Do this and you will live.”

Obviously if we are going to Love God and Love People how we treat people matters. Lets look at a verse in John that describes Jesus’ birth. I think we will find a some truth that will help us Love God and Love People

John 1:14 NIV

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

I love how John phrases this: Full of Grace and Truth

Jesus came down to live and give life how glorious is this? So magnificient , a literal Godsend

Full of Grace Full of Truth

one of the best things about Jesus is that he is both full of grace and full of truth. The truth is not absent when the grace is present and the Grace is not absent when the truth is present

He was always grace filled when he spoke truth and when he spoke truth it was leading to grace.

what happens when we land on one side or the other?

Truth without Grace

You may say: “I’m just being honest” but if you are just focused on the truth side of the equation you might just be a jerk.

It is easy to struggle with this.

Whenever I want to speak truth I want to be sure it is motivated by grace.

Grace without Truth

The opposite is also true. Giving someone a way out without leading them toward the truth is often seen as whimping out.

“You cannot separate grace from truth anymore than you can separate truth from grace.” -Carey Nieuwhof

Jesus modeled both for us.

So, the next time you a tempted to tell someone “you are fat because you eat too many Twinkies, Don’t.

There is probably a more graceful way to answer. TobyMac calls us to “Speak Life” There is Grace-filled, Truthful way to approach everything.

Lets look back at the passage in Luke again:

Luke 10:25–28 LEB

And behold, a certain legal expert stood up to test him, saying, “Teacher, what must I do so that I will inherit eternal life?” And he said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” And he answered and said, “You shall love the Lord your God from all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live.”

An expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. . . Clearly this expert didnt have grace on his mind he wanted to “test” or to trap Jesus and he asked his question in a mater of factually kind of way ““Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Jesus answered “What is written in the law?” “How do you read it?”” full of grace and full of truth

The expert said perhaps getting it for the first time ““You shall love the Lord your God from all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

Love God and Love People

Lets Pray

God thank you that you are the one who Loves perfectly. Thank you that you allow us to Love. Thank You for allowing us to love you and love others. I pray right now that you give us grace and truth in Jesus name amen

Mark Series