“We love because He first loved us.” - 1 John 4:19
Did you know that one out of every three people on this planet – that’s 2.2 billion people – claim to be Christians and a part of the Church? That is an amazing number for many reasons. The first church started out with about 120 people in the Roman Empire. By the end of the first century, there were fewer than 10,000 Christians, which made up only .00017% of the Empire at that time. By the year 200 AD, the number was up to 200,000 making up .36%. And by the fourth century, there were 35 million Christians in the ancient world!
If you do the math, Christianity grew 40% per decade for hundreds of years. The early Church did more than just survive…it thrived. How did this happen with the odds stacked against it? In the beginning, Christianity was considered depraved and was in many places illegal. The persecution of Christians was relentless and unending. At least two of the persecutions were empire-wide with the intent to destroy the Church altogether.
The earliest Christians didn’t have buildings and met in homes. They had no access to the mass media of their day. They had little money and absolutely no political influence. The Gospel spread through ordinary people from diverse backgrounds with one thing in common – they had given their lives to Jesus.
With all these “obstacles,” people were still drawn to the Church. What made these believers so magnetic? What makes any church magnetic? How do we fill our churches with people who want to come and want others to come, too? These are important questions because, unfortunately, the American Church seems to be falling out of favor and losing its influence. Many people want to blame the increasingly secular culture for this trend, and that is part of it. But I believe the bigger part of the problem is the Church itself.
Jesus Himself tells us that it is love that makes us magnetic. He spoke of a different kind of love…a new kind of love that is so powerful it attracts even the hardest of hearts. This kind of love cannot be manufactured on our own. It is love that the Holy Spirit brings into a heart that has been made new. It is love that is reciprocal, not original, to our reborn souls. It is a love that is first received and then poured out for the sake of Christ.
Father, thank You for loving me first when I didn’t deserve it. Help me to love others with the same love that I have received from You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Topics: Love
