Jesus prayed to FATHER in John chapter 17:
25 “You are My Righteous Father,
but the unbelieving world has never known You
in the perfect way that I know You!
And all those who believe in Me
also know that You have sent Me!
26 I have revealed to them who You are
and I will continue to make You even more real to them,
so that they may experience the same endless Love
that You have for Me,
for Your Love will now live in them, even as I live in them!”
We are meant to experience and walk in the endless and intense Agape Love which emanates through FATHER, Jesus Our Lord, and The Holy Spirit. In that same prayer, Jesus had spoken:
23 You live fully in Me and now I live fully in them
so that they will experience perfect unity,
and the world will be convinced that You have sent Me,
for they will see that You Love each one of them
with the same passionate Love that You have for Me.
If we are not developing that same Love for others, then we are missing the point of becoming mature Sons and Daughters. People often “talk the talk” but they don’t “walk the walk”. They don’t pursue the walk of Agape Love because it requires commitment to being led by The Holy Spirit and Loving those who have wronged them. Rather than constantly pursuing restoration, they simply want to put those people out of their mind and go on as though “life is good”. They may act like they truly know Jesus but their actions speak a different message.
Luke wrote by The Holy Spirit in chapter 15:
15 Many dishonest tax collectors and other notorious sinners often gathered around to listen as Jesus taught the people. 2 This raised concerns with the Jewish religious leaders and experts of the law. Indignant, they grumbled and complained, saying, “Look at how this man associates with all these notorious sinners and welcomes them all to come to him!”
Jesus spoke:
3 In response, Jesus gave them this illustration:
4–5 “There once was a shepherd with a hundred lambs, but one of his lambs wandered away and was lost. So the shepherd left the ninety-nine lambs out in the open field and searched in the wilderness for that one lost lamb. He didn’t stop until he finally found it. With exuberant joy he raised it up and placed it on his shoulders, carrying it back with cheerful delight! 6 Returning home, he called all his friends and neighbors together and said, ‘Let’s have a party! Come and celebrate with me the return of my lost lamb. It wandered away, but I found it and brought it home.’”
7 Jesus continued, “In the same way, there will be a glorious celebration in heaven over the rescue of one lost sinner who repents, comes back home, and returns to the fold—more so than for all the righteous people who never strayed away.”
Love pursues the lost one rather than simply write that person off. Agape Love is all about restoration and unity. If you are promoting division in any manner then you must repent. You may not be able to fellowship with that person but you are to consistently minister to him or her so that they will experience the True Agape Love of Jesus. Your level of Spiritual maturity is reflected by your willingness to actively restore those who are lost. Once again, it’s all about Love!