Into the Fire

Perfect love is defined and described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a and 1 John 4:16-18. It is demonstrated in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Grace has been defined as unmerited favor extended to humans from a loving God. In other words we don’t deserve anything favorable, but we get it anyway because of God’s unquenchable love for us. In spite of us.

Tolerance is “the capacity for or practice of allowing or respecting the nature, beliefs, or behavior of others; Leeway for variation of a standard/the permissible deviation from a specified valued of a structural dimension; the capacity to endure, especially the ability to endure hardship or pain; physiological resistance to poison/the capacity to absorb a drug continuously or in large doses without adverse effect”, according to one dictionary.

Where Christians can get convoluted in their reasoning is assuming that the three of these particular words and associated actions are interchangeable. First and foremost, only God encompasses and embodies Perfection. Only God encompasses and embodies Love and is capable of extending it outward to His creation. Only God is the origin of Grace, also able to perfectly endow it upon the human race and extend it to individuals.

Here’s the kicker which I think people often fail to understand: God does NOT “tolerate” sin.

And neither should we. Not in ourselves nor in anyone else.

So, what does that mean?

Well . . . it means that we have a responsibility to the Lord to recognize and confront sin first in ourselves, and then to pray about if and when to address it in another. We eagerly receive God’s grace in the midst of our sinful crises, welcoming the loving forgiveness our repentance produces.

“My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner away from his error will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.” James 5:19-20

This world is currently in the business of “tolerating” sinful behavior, ideology, and deviant philosophies based on the input of the enemy of our souls. We get lulled into thinking we must do the same, associating tolerance of an individual’s sinful behavior as extending “grace” to them, when in fact we are simply allowing them to believe we accept their sinfulness. Real “grace” and true “love” expose sin, initiate prayer for the individual, and are the tools used to help in overcoming. However, we are cautioned not to get “dragged down” into the same sins with that person. There are many warnings about “bad company” corrupting “good character” and the question is asked, “What does light have in common with darkness?”

Loving any individual, the desirable and undesirable, is only possible through God. How He requires we do it will vary considerably in specifics, depending on our particular situations with individual people. It does involve His grace operating through us. “Speak the truth in love.”

Tolerance is another matter. Repeatedly we are warned not to associate with the world and its desires, to come out from what we once were, to be changed by the renewing of our minds. To be in the world, not of the world. In other words, we don’t mix. We no longer “tolerate” the conduct and behaviors and practices of the world. Sin is now defined for us, and we can argue back and forth about what it is, but really it’s pretty plainly defined for us in the pages of God’s Word. In those areas where we’re unsure, we have the Holy Spirit to clarify it for us. We are not down here on our own. Jesus is interceding for us, the Holy Spirit indwells us. We’re not feeble spiritually unless we choose to be. The very power of heaven is available to us on a daily basis. Once we get a hold of that, we are unlimited in performing what God has for us. We can grasp the differences and subtleties in dealing with individuals and sin in our world, differentiating between tolerance and grace.

We Christians are often referred to as “intolerant”. Actually, that’s true. However, how we demonstrate that “intolerance” should be Holy Spirit-led, not performed in the flesh—as we might often wish to do. And don’t use love as a shield to “tolerate” sin. Love is synonymous with God, and He does NOT tolerate sin. He convicts sin and those who fail to abandon it in favor of Jesus and the Cross will face judgment forever. And grace is only given as sin is being addressed, not ignored. We show kindness to and demonstrate love for those stuck in the grip of the world and its ways, but we do not tolerate sin.

Even in writing fiction, we start from a base of honesty. Honesty is personified in the definition of love and the demonstration of truth acted out in make-believe. Just as we’ve discussed the rules of writing and how you must know them to effectively and productively “break” them in your writing style, you must know the Truth to effectively communicate both Love and Grace while you eliminate the tolerance of sin which is, was, and always will be, an abomination to God.

Yes, God gave His only Son to provide redemption for the sins of the world, and because of that He has given each of us an undetermined amount of time to take this offer into consideration. Rejection of the Savior’s death and resurrection and Blood covenant with us will not grant eternal understanding of the excuses for such a choice. If we believe the Word of God and adhere to our faith in the redemptive power of Jesus, we acknowledge and abide by the “for Him or against Him” pronouncement and live by it in our relationships with those in the world. We might be gentle, joyful, loving, peaceful, patient, generous, self-controlled, always faithful, alert to the Spirit’s instructions, firm, strong, and immovable and unflinching where Truth is concerned, while incorporating the methodology of Love and the extension of Grace to those who are caught in the snares of sin. But if we mislead them as to the dangers of living in the quagmires of sin, we are not demonstrating real Love or true Grace.

Father, I have experienced your love and grace, and nothing this earth has to offer can compare. I have suffered the consequences of my sins, and you have forgiven me innumerable times. Thank you, Jesus. May I in turn demonstrate your love and grace and tell of your forgiveness, speaking the truth in love. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.