What have I in this life
But the love in Your eyes
This empty world will one day fade
Only Your truth will remain
Jesus, all I have is You
You’re the hope I’m holding to
I might weep but still my faith
Rests in You
As the heavens hold the skies
It’s Your hand that holds my life
And Your love will lead me on
When all else is gone
I woke up last night thinking about a blog comment I read yesterday about how followers of Jesus should be more loving and do less “Bible thumping” toward people who are living an openly sinful lifestyle.
If you mean by “Bible thumping” being obnoxious, judgmental, proud, rude, or beating people over the head with every Bible verse about hell at the exclusion of those verses proclaiming God’s love and grace, then I wholeheartedly agree.
If, however, “Bible thumping” is defined as mentioning the words sin, repentance, wrath, holiness, or hell, then we’ve neutered the Gospel message and neglected our responsibility to the lost.
The greatest demonstration of God’s love is Jesus hanging on the cross, not his lack of “Bible-thumping.” Just about everything he said offended someone both in his time and ours. Sure, Jesus loved people, healed all kinds of physical and spiritual needs. But he also called people to repentance. He spoke of God’s wrath. He mentioned the dangers of Hell. He called people to live holy lives. Read the Sermon on the Mount. Tons of “thumping” going on by Jesus in Matthew 5-7.
Many believers today want to shout love & forgiveness while whispering repentance. I suppose they’re either embarrassed that Jesus demands it or they think he didn’t actually mean it. Either way, they’re wrong! Speak the truth in love, but speak the truth! Jesus did!