They will say that women will die because they will not be able to get an abortion when their life is in danger. It is true that in some cases because of a medical incident if the baby is not aborted the mother will die, for example an ectopic pregnancy. This is a real danger and should not be ignored by pro-life proponents. Another example might be if the woman has cancer and if not treated before the end of the pregnancy she will die, but if treated the baby will die. Sometimes in medicine, you have to make a decision of one life or another and you don’t have a choice to abstain. I believe in these instances the decision ought to be up to the patient and doctor and family. In some of these situations the mother has chosen to give her life for the baby, in others the mother or her family has chosen to save the mother’s life. In both someone dies because of that decision. It is what it is. It is a part of the complicated world due to sin. When the women’s life is at risk, I don’t think it should be illegal in this situation. Will some take advantage of this? Probably. But in real cases, this is an unwinnable decision, and we shouldn’t punish them for those who will take advantage of it. Fortunately, in all the laws restricting abortion there is an exception when the mother’s life is at risk. Therefore, there is no danger of women dying due to this situation.

     Another argument is that a large number of women will die if they go to illegal practitioners for an abortion. Does the evidence support that? If we are going to argue that making abortion illegal will cause the death of women because they will still seek abortions and go to clinics that are unregulated, we need to base this on facts. Let’s take a look at what the statistics were before Roe and what pro-abortion leaders were saying about illegal abortions. Here is a quote from a Guttmacher article.

     “One stark indication of the prevalence of illegal abortion was the death toll. In 1930, abortion was listed as the official cause of death for almost 2,700 women—nearly one-fifth (18%) of maternal deaths recorded in that year. The death toll had declined to just under 1,700 by 1940, and to just over 300 by 1950 (most likely because of the introduction of antibiotics in the 1940s, which permitted more effective treatment of the infections that frequently developed after illegal abortion). By 1965, the number of deaths due to illegal abortion had fallen to just under 200, but illegal abortion still accounted for 17% of all deaths attributed to pregnancy and childbirth that year. And these are just the number that were officially reported; the actual number was likely much higher.” Lessons from Before Roe: Will Past be Prologue? | Guttmacher Institute

     Before Roe the number of deaths due to abortion though still arguably high at 200 in 1965 were going down due to antibiotics and advances in medicine and they were continuing to go down after 1965. In 1959 in her article written to defend legal abortions, Mary S Calderone,

     “Fact No. 3-Abortion is no longer a dangerous procedure. This applies not just to therapeutic abortions as performed in hospitals but also to so-called illegal abortions as done by physicians. In 1957 there were only 260 deaths in the whole country attributed to abortions of any kind. In New York City in 1921 there were 144 abortion deaths, in 1951 there were only 15; and, while the abortion death rate was going down so strikingly in that 30-year period, we know what happened to the population and the birth rate. Two corollary factors must be mentioned here: first, chemotherapy and antibiotics have come in, benefiting all surgical procedures as well as abortion. Second, and even more important, the conference estimated that 90 per cent of all illegal abortions are presently being done by physicians. Call them what you will, abortionists or anything else, they are still physicians, trained as such; and many of them are in good standing in their communities. They must do a pretty good job if the death rate is as low as it is. Whatever trouble arises usually comes after self-induced abortions, which comprise approximately 8 per cent, or with the very small percentage that go to some kind of nonmedical abortionist.” amjphnation00308-0022.pdf (nih.gov)

      Dr. Alan Guttmacher wrote in 1960, “The technique of the well–accredited criminal abortionist is usually good. They have to be good to stay in business, since otherwise they would be extremely vulnerable to police action.” (Babies by Choice or Chance)

     In article Guttmacher above it says, “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that in 1972 alone, 130,000 women obtained illegal or self-induced procedures, 39 of whom died.” That same year the CDC reported 24 deaths due to legal procedures. In 1973, the number of women who died due to legal abortions were 25, while those who died of illegal abortions were 19. (Abortion Surveillance — United States, 1992 (cdc.gov) )  The rates of death were similar between legal and illegal abortions. And abortion advocates argued that illegal abortions were generally safe. As abortion became legal more abortions were done and of course there were less illegal abortions so the numbers do change between legal and illegal abortions, just because illegal abortions were no longer being done. But the evidence shows that there was not too much disparities between illegal and legal abortions as time went on and techniques allowed for safer abortions. Also, as a consequence of a large number of abortions now being performed after Roe, techniques were refined and improved at a quicker pace, lowering the number of deaths. The deaths were not lowered due to the legalization but due to more experience.

     It has been 50 years since Roe, there has been quite a bit of medical advancement since them. Equipment is smaller and cheaper to obtain. The procedure has been improved. In 2018, the number of abortion-related deaths for the woman was 2 (• Deaths from abortions U.S. 1973-2018 | Statista). Like in the past it is likely that illegal abortions will range around what the legal stats are, because the doctors who are willing to perform illegal abortion will probably be those who like in the past care about the women’s right to have an abortion safely, and they need to be safe if they do not want to be caught, there is serious consequences if they are not safe. Even if the number of women who die, though unlikely, does increase it is still likely to be low, large numbers of women will not die.

      Because of the advances in medicine and multiple variables, the reality is we don’t know what the exact numbers would be. History seems to indicate the numbers would be close to the same and possibly less. So, we are looking at a probable few deaths, which may or may not change, but if it does probably not by much to a certain 800,000 deaths per year. You may not agree that abortion is a death, but for those that do, these are the numbers that they are looking at. Do we choose the 800,000 lives are the few? Here are some other stats: if the abortion numbers were included in the stats of yearly deaths, they would be around 25% of the deaths each year in the U.S, worldwide it is about 50%, and this consistently year by year. Not everyone agrees that they should be included in the stats, and I am not expecting that, or for anyone to agree, but just take time to listen, what if you did believe these were deaths, even murders, how would you feel. For those who do believe this is deeply emotional. Nowhere in history has anyone seen stats like this. If you understand this, then you get a glimpse into why people are heartbroken over this issue. If you disagree, fine but don’t belittle this. Learning to communicate with people starts by understanding their motivation. I am not asking you to agree with making abortion illegal, but to try to understand why this matters to someone who thinks abortion should be illegal.

Even though I believe the deaths of women obtaining an illegal abortion would be low, I do think they matter. I do think we need to think long and hard on how we can make whatever the number would be lower. I don’t think we should say, “Hey, we’ve saved 800,000 lives, these women’s deaths are few, they don’t matter.” I do think we need to dialogue on how to reduce those numbers whatever they might be. It does matter, which is why people bring it up. And I don’t fault anyone for caring about it.

My guess and I don’t want to make assumptions about what people are thinking, is that maybe the central aspect of the argument for those who defend abortion centers around the rights of a woman verses the right of the unborn baby. For the pro-life defender it centers around that they believe that both have equal rights and trying to make the decision that saves the most lives. If this is the case, I think it is important to understand if we are going to dialogue over these issues.

Even though many women will most likely not die due to anti-abortion laws, many women will be affected significantly. This is absolutely true, and these concerns should not be ignored, for they are real. I’ve seen enough life to know that life is messed up and not fair. Without abortion, women feel like they have lost a right that many have known all their reproductive life, a right that significantly affects their life and freedom. Abortion was a protection against the tyranny of men who had more sexual freedom then they had. It is a real fact that women have historically taken advantage of men in the area of sex. Women have had to take on most of the burden. It is unconscionable that, even though male contraceptives have less health risks than contraceptives for women, women have had to take on most of the responsibility. They are also the ones who have to get the abortion if the contraceptives fail. Men also don’t have to carry the baby, go through the changes of pregnancy, or our stuck with the decision of what to do. Men will often walk away when a woman is pregnant and if she can’t get an abortion, she is stuck alone with the responsibility for both carrying the baby and either giving it up for adoption or raising the kid. Men get to go off scott free. And this is not all the issues. Having a fear of what they are going to have to go through now that this decision has been made is normal and I am with you. I am afraid, too. If people are not willing to address these issues, there will be devastating consequences. Part of the reason I feel “heavy” is because I am not naïve. I don’t believe the Supreme Court fixes the abortion issue. I don’t believe if abortion was outlawed in the whole U.S. that the abortion issue would be fixed. The issues we have as a society and how women have been treated goes much deeper. I also am not niave in thinking we will all agree on many issues, we won’t, but maybe I am niave enough in thinking dialogue is possible, something that is sorely lacking in our culture. Dialogue will be necessary as we work on these issues.

One example, and of course more should be done, is that there should be laws in place that keep the man accountable to fully provide for the costs of the pregnancy, after all she is doing all the work and taking all the risks. He should also be made to provide for her and her child after the pregnancy and to provide for her education. If she didn’t want to have anything to do with the man, she would have that option as well. If you are pro-life, you should be fight for laws that protect the women from being taken advantage of by men. And there is much more to be done. We cannot ignore the reality of the struggles women will go through and need to step up to meet those challenges.

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Truth is not afraid of questions. Listening to questions people have should not dishearten us. I have found though; we don’t like how this process disquiets us. So, we might be quick to come to conclusions or find answers that don’t adequately address the question. I’ve been thinking about the movement of Deconstructionism, where people struggle with questions about Christianity and often leave the faith. I see two things happening. As someone is going through this process, there are not a lot of resources. The questions they have are difficult and deep and cannot be answered quickly. But because it is uncomfortable that is often what happens. They are given foolish answers that don’t even come close to addressing the questions they have. Because it is comfortable those giving these answers walk away thinking they have done their job. Maybe they think the person is stubborn. But really it is them that feel more comfortable walking on the other side of the road. Not many want to go into the trenches with them and stay there however long it takes. We don’t want to feel the struggle and the questions that it will create for ourselves. We don’t want to feel the weariness of wrestling through these questions.

Because this is a deep emotional place, one seeks relief. For someone who is honestly struggling with these questions, a quick foolish answer will only make the wound deeper. Their questions are real, and our answers need to be real. If you are seeking relief, there are those who will say, look at the foolish answers you have been given and by the way here are even more questions, the answer is not wrestling with the questions, but walking away from the questions all together, walking away from Christianity. The problem is that these also are quick and foolish answers to the questions people are having. They don’t answer the questions, only say they don’t exist. I have never come across an argument from this side that does not rely on poor scholarship or logic to make its point. The arguments look awesome on the surface, but only if you remain on the surface. But when you’re tired and in pain, these answers though foolish, provide relief. And many settle for relief, because they have already tried the church and have nowhere else to go. Relief is better than the quick foolish answers that make the wound deeper.

And this is the problem, we don’t like going deep when it is uncomfortable for us. We don’t like wrestling because it wears us out. In the end, we want relief and comfort more than we want Truth. We want both, but if we have to settle for one . . . . And once we have relief, we close our eyes and ears and mind. This is human nature.

But true healing comes when we lose our life and abandon comfort. Love requires it. Wresting is up close and personal, extremely intimate. The reality is we all have a lot of baggage to wrestle through. Wrestling feels like the opposite of rest but is necessary to find it. We must strive in order to find rest. Love enters in and wrestles with us, cutting away at the lies and our baggage, but not only the lies, but the places where we lack love, where we don’t love others well. We can only find rest in truth and love, and so we must wrestle.

Hebrews 4:11–13 calls us to find this rest, “Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. “

And Love, the intimacy of wrestling will bring healing. Gold and silver are refined in fire. It is the same with us. Let us not settle for temporary comforts that ignore our questions. Let us seek Truth and grab on to Love with confidence. And let us not let others walk alone, not looking for quick answers, but walking in this journey together.

O LORD, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom have you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
(Psalm 104:24,ESV)

“For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse”. (Romans 1:20, ESV)

We cannot solve poverty or get rid of the elite with Capitalism or Socialism. Though Socialism makes this claim, in reality there is only a switch of one kind of elitism to another form of elitism. You will never have a pure Capitalist society. Nor will a pure Socialist society thrive. I believe it is best to give more power to the people and less to government. My problem with Socialism is that the Bible talks about bringing the poor to your table. This is a very intimate way of caring for the poor. You must be close, clean their wounds, wash their feet. After being a deacon, I realize socialism has wrested that power away from us. As deacons, we wanted to give money to others, but we also wanted to walk with them, not just walk by them and leave them lingering on the roadside. As deacons we were hindered in what we could do because of government interference. What must drive our concern for the poor must be love, not guilt. Using the government as an excuse to walk by without engaging will never work. Love is intimate and must be done with open hands. So, if love is intimate, the question is how do you give more power to the people who are able to love those around them. Voting is one way to have power. Money is another. Neither Socialism or Capitalism will solve this problem, but here is a place for a dialogue to begin.

If we stubbornly hold on and are unwilling to have our world views crushed and broken, and that on a continual and ongoing basis, we will miss out on the goodness and the joy of the Lord that are found in the wonders of the Gospel. Therefore, let this false wisdom fall away, let my world be crushed and my heart broken as God calls me into His Holy presence and I am changed and conformed into the image of Christ and brought into a love that will consume me.

Therefore, I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. – Romans 12:1,2

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. – Psalm 51:17

Thus says the LORD,
“Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool.
Where then is a house you could build for Me?
And where is a place that I may rest?
“For My hand made all these things,
Thus all these things came into being,” declares the LORD.
“But to this one I will look,
To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word. – Isaiah 66:1,2

“He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.”

The root of divorce, the tensions, and our struggles in marriage are our hard hearts. We refuse to surrender to the Word. We are skeptical and don’t have faith in God’s grand vision of marriage, trusting in our own desires instead. We refuse to surrender to ourselves and demand that our visions and will and view of the world rule.

A marriage brings together two messed up sinners, who need the word of God spoken into their lives. The battle for marriage is a battle to lose oneself and to trust in a God who deeply loves us. As we trust and cast our lives on God, believing the Gospel, and letting it penetrate into who we are, we will begin to be captivated by the image of the portrayal of Christ and the Church. This is the pursuit that makes marriage grand.

As a body, we must be speaking this truth into each other’s lives. Our sinful natures battle this truth with in us. We are so prone to wonder. But while it is called, Today, let us not forsake encouraging each other, reminding each other that the beauty of the Kingdom is breaking through and is more real than anything in our imagination or skepticism.

“I don’t know if I’m weaker than other people, but it is a positive revelation to me how while the speech lasts it is impossible not to waiver just a little… Statements which I know to be untrue all but convince me, at any rate for the moment, if only the man says them unflinchingly.”

We are easily deceived. Do not think that you are above the many Germans enraptured by the speeches of Hitler? They were people just like us. We are people just like them.

And it happens, today, perhaps in more subtle mediums, but the lure of deception and evil is real. Like the foolish woman of Proverbs, it entices, and it attracts with a false beauty. But in the end, there is death and stench. It is alive and well in our own culture, promoting murder, hate, and a many other evils, bring destruction to lives and families.

But the voice of evil is familiar, we barely notice . . .

Reading:
Now the question is, “How do I live this out in a practical way?” We discover the answer to this question together as a body of Christ. Christ said that the world will know that we are His by how we love one another. We live out the truths of scripture together. We question and we listen and we share what God has taught us. We encourage and challenge each other to keep pressing into the Gospel and God’s Word. And we seek God together. And we have a God, who is walking along side us, helping us to be the church. More than helping, He leads the church. And He will lead us into practical ways to serve the poor and downtrodden.

Scripture reading:
2 Timothy 3:16,17
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

Questions:
What are some practical ways you can apply these lessons to your own life?

How can you encourage these lessons in others?

How does your life need to change to live these principles?

Who are some people in your daily life that you can minister too? In your everyday life is God providing opportunities to minister to the poor?

What is available in your neighborhood? What opportunities are there?

What actions can you take, now?

Reading:
In Acts 20, Paul leaves this thought to those he has ministered among, “In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” God has promised a blessing to those who serve others in Christ. Those who get this are generous in their service and giving. They get that the things of this world are wearing away like an old cloth, but the things of the Kingdom and its treasures never fade away. God offers us life and life abundantly. He offers us joy to the full. He offers us the desires of our hearts. As we surrender our lives and our hearts and our minds into His loving care, we are blessed. Jesus doesn’t promise a fantasy world. He doesn’t promise homes or comfort. His commands may seem hard in our flesh, but His commands are always for our good and for our blessing and to increase our joy in Him. He offers something so much more valuable than worldly possessions. Do we trust Him, who feeds the ravens and clothes the lilies of the field? Do we trust His love? Are we willing to step out in the adventure that He has laid before us? Do we trust His embrace and His love for us? He is God and He is mighty. He will not let us down. He will not choose second best for us.

Paul did not have easy. He suffered. He had the burden of loving the churches he had helped to start. But Paul had joy and he had it immensely. And he daily was ready to pour out his life for the Gospel. Paul before His death wrote, “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.” Paul didn’t just see this just as a future blessing, but it was a part of what God was doing in His life day to day. He knew he was loved by God.

We are caught up in the most romantic love story – the Gospel. It is a part of our day to day life. It is a joy and a blessing to be a part of it. It is a joy and a blessing to be able to pour our lives out daily as a drink offering as we follow Christ, our Beloved. . . .

Scripture reading:
Read these verses and discuss what they mean to you and in regards to ministering to the poor.

Acts 20:35
In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

Proverbs 14:21b
blessed is he who is generous to the poor.

Questions:
Jesus didn’t do anything without the Father, where is God going in your environment? What are the blessings of following Jesus?

Do you believe ministering to the poor is a blessing, or is it a burden?

How is the interaction between the poor and rich a blessing?

In what ways is ministering to the poor a blessing for us for you?

What things prevent you from being merciful?

Reading:

We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you —see that you excel in this act of grace also.
— 2 Corinthians 8:1-7

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
— 1 John 3:16,17

The Gospel is commanding. It takes dominion in our lives. It is a force that changes our hearts and our minds, conforming us into the image of Christ. We preach the Gospel, because God has ordained the preaching of the Gospel as a means of His grace. And he has established that His Gospel will be preached through those in the church. That is us. But even though God has ordained this, it is not mechanical. John doesn’t just say, we obey and do what is right. John says that we love. We love God and we love to preach the Gospel. So where does this love come from?

John lays out the heart of the believer and where our motivation comes from to minister to the poor – the work of Christ in our own lives . . . . He states, “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.” We know love, because He first loved us. When we get this, when we get the depths of Jesus’ love for us, our hearts will be moved to know and to love others. John demonstrates an integral connection between being loved by God and walking in the truth of the Gospel and the outward expression of the Gospel’s work in loving others. Our motivation for ministry to the poor comes from the security of the redemption we have in work of Christ.

In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, Paul talks about the church in Macedonia. This church was going through “a severe test of affliction” and “extreme poverty”. They had very little and were in need themselves. But in the midst of this desperate state, they gave to the poor in Jerusalem. And they didn’t give out of legalism, but in “their abundance of joy” their giving “overflowed in a wealth of generosity”. Paul writes that they were so passionate about giving, that they were “begging [Paul and those with him] earnestly for the favor of taking part. . . .” Where did this church get their motivation? . . . Paul writes, “they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.” Their motivation was from surrendering their lives to Jesus Christ.
In Deuteronomy 10, God points to His work as the motivation for the Israelites to love others:

“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good? Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. Yet the Lord set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day. Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn. For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. You shall fear the Lord your God. You shall serve him and hold fast to him, and by his name you shall swear. He is your praise. He is your God, who has done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen. Your fathers went down to Egypt seventy persons, and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven.”

Also in Deuteronomy 17:

“You shall not pervert the justice due to the sojourner or to the fatherless, or take a widow’s garment in pledge, but you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this.
“When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this.”

God’s love for Israel was their motivation to love others, the fact that He loved them first, that He chose them, and He had been mighty with them. “He is your God, who has done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen.” The work of God in their own lives and understanding the depths of it, that he took them as sojourners and rescued them was their motivation to love the sojourner in their own land. The people of Israel were to love well with open hands, because they were loved well with open hands. And likewise we love those without the Gospel, because we were brought out of slavery to sin into this great salvation.

But God has done so much more in the Gospel, than He did for Israel. He is our God, who has done a mighty and powerful work in us. We have been brought into the true Kingdom of God. And His work in us is far greater and full of more glory than the work He did with the nation of Israel. For He has circumcised our hearts when we could not circumcised our own hearts, turning our stubborn hearts of stone into flesh. He has completed the demands of the Law in our lives. Jesus completed this at the cross and as we come close to the cross, we are changed. At the cross, we are “sweetly broken”. I like the words of Jeremy Riddle’s song,

Sweetly Broken –
At the cross you beckon me
You draw me gently to my knees
And I am
Lost for words so lost in love
I am sweetly broken holy surrender

Paul wrote of the Macedonians, “ they gave themselves first to the Lord . . . .” This is the beauty of the Gospel. As we are beckoned to Christ, we are “sweetly broken” and able to walk in “holy surrender”. It is no longer a work. It is trusting in the work of Christ, having faith in His work, laying all that we are down, and allowing His work to change us. In the Gospel, God boldly works in us through sanctification, with all certainty and determination to continue to grow in our hearts love for others. This is why John states that loving others must happen if we are in the Gospel. He says this because the Gospel is not weak, the work of Jesus is not weak, but certain to work love into our hearts. So this love that we have growing in our hearts for others is a work of God and not our own. And God is not thwarted . . . .

This fact gives me much encouragement, when I don’t feel capable of evangelizing or loving others or even don’t feel like loving others. God is at work in me and He will accomplish it, because it is about His work, not mine. And even when I have those times I don’t want to love others, I know He is at work in me.

Here is the deal; we are motivated not through looking at ourselves and working to muster up a love in ourselves. We are motivated, because He first loved us. He loves us! Do you get that? Let me repeat that. He loves us! He loves us so much that He brings us into His love for others. God has chosen the Gospel as the means for this love to be made manifest. And as we come to trust the Gospel, not just that He saves us from God’s wrath, but that God also brings us into His Kingdom and conforms us into the image of Christ; we will discover that love is growing in our hearts. We don’t look to ourselves; we come and look to Christ, believing in His work.

What I mean is that He loves us so much, that we don’t have to muster up love for other people, all we have to do is come to Him. And when we come to God, He will take us up in His arms. We are His handiwork and as we lay our bodies as living sacrifices in His loving and intimate hands, he will carefully mold us into that love. And the work He does in us is faithful and sure.

Our motivation comes from understanding with more clarity the severity and intense sweetness of the gospel, the severity of the gospel for those who do not believe and are enemies of Christ, just as we were once enemies of God and the sweetness of being delivered from that state into this glorious Kingdom of love. Ministering to the others comes out of a deep seated understanding of the riches Christ lavished on us when we were undeserving and deserved His severity. And we step out in these truths knowing it is not about whether or not we fail, because God’s work does not fail and He has determined to do a good work in us, because He loves us. When we understand what Christ has done for us, we will have the freedom to give our lives to others and in “[our] abundance of joy and [our] extreme poverty have [an overflow] in a wealth of generosity.” As we give ourselves to Christ first, we too will, “[beg God] earnestly for the favor of taking part” in loving others.

Is this not grand! Oh, how vast the grace of God toward us, that He brings us in to participate in His great Cosmic story of Grace! That He allows us to love others and to be vessels for the proclamation of the Gospel. We get to participate in this awe inspiring story, because He loves us. . . because he loves us. God uses us as instruments to proclaim the Gospel to the world. And this is evangelism – being caught up in this grand story.

This is the power of the Gospel as it sanctifies our hearts and conforms us into the image of Christ. The more we see the magnificence and grandeur of what God has done for us and grow in our understanding of the Gospel in our own lives, the more passion we will have as God takes us into His story and uses us to reach out to others.

And realize, yes, this is something we do as individuals in our everyday lives, but this is not something we do as individuals. We do this together as a church. The church is to work together in ministering to the poor, each person contributing their gifts and skills to the work of the Gospel in a very practical way. And we motivate each other in this. We are motivated to speaking the Gospel to the world as we as a church speak the Gospel to one another. We speak the Gospel to each other, just as the cherubim cry out to each other “Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD of hosts”

Scripture reading:
Read these verses and discuss what they mean to you and in regards to ministering to the poor.

Acts 20:42
But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

Ephesians 2:10
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Questions:
How do we know love?

How do we know love for others?

When God spoke to Israel about how to treat foreigners and sojourners in the land, as motivation He told them to remember that they were foreigners in Egypt. Also Jesus while preaching would say that because we are forgiven, we should forgive others. How does this apply to our motivation for helping the poor? How does motivating us to remember the Gospel , motivate us in ministering to the poor?

What is the scriptural motivation for ministering to the poor?
Do you believe God can use you? What does this say about your belief in the Gospel and His love for you?

God made a way across the sea for the Israelites, when there was no way? How does this apply for this?

How can you encourage each other as a church, community group, family to be caught up in the Cosmic Story and minister to the poor?