The law of love challenges us to do that. Maybe some of you as believers have some friends who are in the deep weeds maritally. Maybe one is involved in an adulterous relationship and you say, Well, Ill just placate them, you know. Ill just tell them that God loves them and that Im praying for them. What?! Dont yell at them or brow beat them, but speak the truth in love. Say, Hey, wake up. Smell the coffee. Smell the Scripture. You are messing up. Youre messing up. You need help.
Parents with teenagers, draw the line in the sand. Teenagers always want to find where that line is, you know, and then a lot of parents are like Etch-a-Sketch parents. You draw the line and erase it and draw another line and erase it. The kids ask, Where are the lines? Im not sure where the lines are located. Youve got to keep the line where it is, and if they step over the line there are consequences. Thats tough love. Thats the tough side of love.
There are many things that I do not want to say up here on stage. I know I have to because I have to speak the truth in love. Its not popular sometimes to talk about some of the things that I talk about from Gods word. But Ive got to do it. So do you. We have to do it, though, in love. We cant be mean-spirited. We cant be ugly. We cant bark at someone. Weve got to be strong. But dont think that Jesus was just tender. He had a perfect blend of being tender and tough.
The big macro questions: Is it written? Is it in love? And this last question Ill get more into next week, but lets talk about this one briefly. Its another macro question Christ asked himself. Is it on the agenda? Look at the temptation of Christ, for example. We just talked about that for a while. Everything Satan tried was about getting Christ off-purpose. But Christ knew his agenda.
Ed Young says to look at Luke 19:10. Jesus said, The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost. Lost? Well, thats you and me. That was his agenda to live a sinless life, to die a sacrificial death on the cross and to rise again. That was his purpose. When Christ was hanging on the cross a couple of hours before he died, with his flesh tearing and his blood pouring out of his wounds and gasping for breath someone in the crowd said, Hey, Jesus, if youre the Son of God just, just, just come off the cross.
