John 8:42-44
1 Corinthians 13:1-8

Most Christians and Churches speak of love, and loving God and Jesus, and about loving their neighbors, but when one looks closely, their "love" is really quite limited.

A women wrote to us about one such church that she was attending:

"My daughter and I were at last week's church dinner and the preacher sat next to me. My 8 year old asked me why so many of our congregation were eating fried chicken. I leaned over to the preacher and told her that it's times like this that it is difficult to explain to a child why as practicing Christians we don't believe in killing God's creatures for food, when it's not necessary. The preacher silently got up and moved to another seat. I saw her one time since then and she avoided talking to me."

Was this pastor showing the love of Christ?

No, she wasn't!

The woman spoke the truth about the killing of animals, and she didn't even go into all the horrors involved in the raising and killing of animals for their flesh, and the pastor rudely avoided this simple truth.

And by being rude to this woman, the pastor hurt her deeply.

True Godly love would never do this!

Which means that the pastor was not loving this woman and her daughter, either as her neighbors, or according to the love of God, but instead she presented her love according to the father of lies, the devil.

That's right; this pastor was acting satanically.

Many Christians, pastors, and churches claim to have many gifts of the Spirit, and most likely the church we are talking about was one of them, and yet they did not show love.

Paul wrote about this very kind of situation (1 Corinthians 13:1-3):

1 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

2 And if I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.

3 And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.

This pastor obviously would rather emotionally hurt this woman than face the truth and risk that her remarks would be heard by others in the church, and jeopardize her comfy lifestyle.

This woman wasn't being legalistic in her beliefs and faith, she was being loving and compassionate, and that should have been applauded and encouraged.

Thus, by her actions, the pastor was actually denying Jesus, as did the religious leaders and many of the people in His days upon this earth.

When Jesus was being questioned by the religious leadership who were trying to find ways of condemning Him (John 8:42-44):

42 Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me; for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me.

43 "Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word.

44 "You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature; for he is a liar, and the father of lies.

In today's world, a person has to be extremely ignorant, or deaf and blind and unable to read, not to know that there is pain and suffering involved in bringing animal flesh and bodily secretions to their tables.

They have to harden their hearts to the suffering of animals, and in the process, they also harden their hearts to the emotional pain suffered by compassionate people who care about the animals and want to stop their pain and suffering.

In the early church, people who didn't eat flesh were considered saints.

So why would a vegetarian or vegan upset the churches and people of today so much that they would be shunned in this way?

It's most likely that they really know the truth and don't want to face it.

They would rather live in the world and be a part of it, rather than be loving, compassionate, peacemaking children of God.

It's time that every Christian, and every pastor, and every church wake up to the truth and face it, and begin to be the people Jesus called us all to be.

And while we're thinking about this, let's let Paul tell us how love should really be lived (1 Corinthians 13:4-8):

4 Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant,

5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered,

6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;

7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never fails;...

Love simply requires us to turn away from the lies and face the truth, and live as Jesus taught us to live.

Amen.