The church that is going to make Jesus’ love believable is not just a church that moves in signs and wonders and bold gospel preaching and care for the poor. It is the church that has truly become a family. In a family, our mistakes and messes do not disqualify us from belonging—they expose just how deeply we belong. Every loving parent understands this. It’s our kids messes that draw the greatest demonstrations of sacrificial love from our hearts and send the message, “Nothing can separate you from my love. No matter what you do, you are my child.”
The world around us is in a toxic love affair with punishment. Everywhere we look, people are wracked with anxiety, anger, and addictions as they struggle fruitlessly to find purpose, power, comfort, and safety without God. The only way for them to see that this love affair is not love at all, but absolute bondage to fear, sin, death, and hell, is for them to encounter the covenant of love between the Father and His children. This is the great privilege and honor of every restored son and daughter—to show the Father’s lost children the punishment-free path back to His arms.