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Review content:
It can't be long now. The cracks are starting to show. The flock--those previously instructed to act coldly to former members, are showing signs of being under different orders now. Orders to reach out, to show Christian love. \r
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This is a beautiful thing. For one, if the people who left the Lake have truly strayed, it shows that those who remain are now properly reading this verse: ""Treat them as a tax gatherer."" That is, to show them the highest standard of Christ's love, as He did for Zaccheus, Matthew, and others. It's simple: if we're selling His love, we show His love. The Sun and the North Wind.\r
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For another thing, it shows for the first time that the Orders from on high...can be wrong. This is huge. For so long, the Leadership has been unwilling and unable to admit being wrong because...well the consequences of that are obvious. For so long, the control, the anger, the fear--they've been ahead on the scoreboard. But if you flip to the last page, love always wins.\r
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The fact is, when someone we love insults us, disagrees with us, leaves us--this hurts. Bad. There are two paths to go down. The easiest path is that of anger. Of rebuke. Of shunning. It seems ""right""--after all, people need to see that their actions have consequences, don't they? And sometimes God takes His time unfolding those on His own. What could be more right than those of us with His best interests in mind giving His judgment a little boost?\r
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But there is another path. A better path. It's spelled out to us in the words of Proverbs and in the actions of Christ. It rings through the whole Bible, if you read it properly. A soft answer turns away anger. They will know us by our Love. Forgive them for they know not what they do. \r
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I couldn't be happier to see the flock of Lakeview finally reaching out to the lost sheep as the parable instructs: to show that concern for the lost sheep at the expense of the 99. It means that the 100-year winter is starting to break. Jesus is getting through. Once that tide has turned, the triumph of love is inevitable.
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