Proclaiming Love in a World that Distorts It
There are times in the life of the Church when we are called to proclaim God’s love with boldness and clarity. There are seasons when that call is easy—when love feels abundant, celebrated, and freely given. And then, there are times when the voices with the loudest platforms manipulate, distort, and attempt to redefine love—turning it into something conditional, exclusionary, or self-serving. In those moments, our proclamation matters even more.
But the good news of Jesus is clear --
When asked what the greatest commandment was, Jesus responded without hesitation: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 22:37-39) There is no asterisk on that commandment. There is no caveat about who our neighbor is or who is deserving of love. And there is no separating love of God from love of neighbor—they are bound together inextricably, woven into every thought, word, and action of our lives.
Scripture consistently reveals that God’s love is not restricted by birth, country of origin, family, status, wealth, or identity. Again and again, God’s call to love extends beyond boundaries that humans try to create:
In Leviticus 19:34, God commands: "You shall love the stranger as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt."
In Luke 10, Jesus makes it clear that our neighbor is not just the one who looks, lives, or believes as we do, but also the one we might least expect—telling the parable of the Good Samaritan to illustrate what radical love truly means.
In Acts 10, Peter is confronted with the fullness of God's grace when he declares, "Truly I understand that God shows no partiality."
The message is unmistakable: We are bound to God and bound to one another, and no human-made division—not nationality, family, status, or identity—can break that connection.
Proclaiming God's love isn't always easy. There will always be voices that attempt to twist the gospel, to redefine love as something small, something reserved for a select few. But as followers of Christ, we are called to proclaim the truth anyway. We are called to live it out in boldness, even when it's hard.
And so, in this season, I invite you to reflect:
How is God calling you to proclaim love?
Where are you being challenged to see the face of Christ in your neighbor?
How might your words, actions, and presence bear witness to the truth of God’s unshakable, boundless love?
We are not alone in this calling. We walk together, bound in love, guided by grace, and strengthened by the One who is Love itself.
In Christ,
Pastor Minna Bothwell