Love Well in a Divided Culture: Navigate Challenging Times With Jesus' LoveSample

Love Well in a Divided Culture: Navigate Challenging Times With Jesus' Love

Do you find yourself struggling to approach difficult conversations with friends and loved ones? Perhaps you have something important to share—a belief or strongly held opinion that directly opposes someone else’s. Or maybe you’re faced with questions on a tricky subject by someone whom you know you just can’t avoid responding to anymore.

Maybe you’ve engaged in some difficult conversations already that have not gone well, leaving you feeling prideful, bitter, angry, offended, shut out—misunderstood, frustrated, misrepresented, or hurt. These are very common emotional responses and feelings when faced with difficult conversations. We live in a divided culture, no doubt. No matter what country you live in, your ancestral heritage, or your family dynamic, we are all a divided people.

When we learn to love well in a divided culture, we can trust our Good Shepherd to lead us into conversations that allow His love to flow through us!

Cultural issues have always existed. As King Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 1:9, “History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new” (NLT). When Jesus walked this earth, the same issues, the same divisions, and the same controversies existed. In some ways, things look different now, but the roots of these issues are the same.

This email series will address how we can love people well despite our divided culture. How we initiate conversation and how we respond is our responsibility, and we’ll look to Scripture for great examples of how Jesus and other heroes of our faith engaged in difficult situations.

You’ll be challenged to lay down your own agenda and fully lean into the Holy Spirit’s voice and direction. You’ll learn how to engage with spiritual disciplines to help you put on the full armor of God as you head into battle—all the while experiencing new ways or reigniting old ways of having Christ’s love influence your behavior and soften your heart toward others.

Let’s begin with prayer, using Proverbs 4:23, inviting the Holy Spirit into our time over these next 10 days and beyond.

Father God, Proverbs 4:23 says, "Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life." I ask that You help guard my heart and mold and infuse it with Your love. Allow the words that come out of my mouth to represent Your love for mankind. Thank You, Lord, for being present within me at all times. You never leave me, and You’re here, right now, guiding my steps. Allow me to quiet any noise and distractions that are keeping me from hearing Your voice. Give me discernment and direction as I prayerfully consider difficult conversations. Give me the exact words to say and help me to remain silent when that’s Your will. Let the Holy Spirit show me direction in my situation through our Father’s Word—giving me clarity and confidence along the way. Let my words and actions be a marvelous outpouring of the love of Jesus Christ to others. In His name, I pray. Amen.