I agree that in practice, love is patient, kind, does not envy or boast, and is not proud. It does not dishonor others, is not self-seeking or easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Which are the attributes one seldom sees from those coming to declare “the truth in love.”

Personally, I’ve been treated to unkindness, arrogance and demands. I’ve been subject to dishonor and anger and a recitation of every flaw that has ever been experienced by gay people. I’ve seen rejoicing at the sadness of gay people, I’ve seen rejection of those in need, betrayal and condescension. I’ve been told that this is “the truth in love.” That all the viciousness and harm were out of “love for my soul” and that present persecution was justified by a desire to protect me from eternal damnation.

So now when I see those coming with “truth in love” I know what they bring will have nothing of what Corinthians 13 declares to be love. Oh but when you do see those attributes – and at times you most certainly do from those who show rather than declare their love – then you know that you have found a disciple of Christ.

It means what it says.

As simple and as profound as it may be, this was not an answer to What does it look like in practice!

Love first, unconditionally, and over all.

Easy to say, and somewhat trite, but what does it mean in practice?

It means what it says. It’s as simple and as profound as that. 1 Corinthians 13. Folks can nitpick and posture all they want. It does not change the facts. We’ve all witnessed it done the wrong way, from so-called Christians of every ideological bent under the sun. I, myself, have done it wrong. I can and only will speak for myself. The rest of you are free to examine yourselves, honestly, if you will. God judges us all.

I wonder at the need, even, for conjuring up the term “real Christians.” The one and only Christ knows who his sheep are. The rest of us have to guess at it from the fruit we see, and we’d better be looking first to our own houses.

Fortunately, we are under no obligation to decide who is for real. We are only under compulsion, if we are followers of Christ, to obey his commandments, the chief of which are to love God with everything we have and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves (i.e., value our own lives as image bearers of God). Do those two, and the rest of life tends to fall into place.

Unfortunately, we the created nitpick about how to love our Creator and who our “neighbor” is. Quibbling and backbiting always seem to reach a crescendo prior to an election. No doubt, we’ve all about had our fill of that for 2010.

I mentioned in one of my last comments here before taking a beak that I had high hopes for a book I had just then started reading. City of Man: Politics and Religion in a New Era by Michael Gerson and Peter Wehner is the (fairly short) book. I had the chance to read it during my recent travels. It lived up to my expectations, and then some. Highly recommend it for those who want to grasp what conservative Christianity best looks like and how it most effectively engages a culture.

What LaBarbera et al (fill in the names that fit) are doing and saying is off the reservation in many ways. Such rhetoric alienates rather than heals and certainly does not draw anyone to Christ. And I understand well why someone like gug would have his misgivings about the Christian faith when some of the loudest examples are also some of the poorest.

The perennially illusive “truth-in-love” message is something we ever strive for, but seldom get right. When it happens, it is a precious moment in time, one that is never to be squandered.

“Retired minister Kenneth Hicks, who served as Bishop of the United Methodist Church in Arkansas from 1976 to 1984, said that if reports are true that McCance was threatened by those advocating for his resignation, it was inappropriate. Asked what he hopes for McCance going forward from his resignation, Hicks said:

“I would hope that someday he would come to appreciate that religion isn’t a bunch of fences and walls, but that it’s more of a gate through which we proceed in our lives as we learn to live with one another… If you’re not experiencing well-being, then my well-being is cut short too. If you’re insecure, then my security is incomplete. We’re all a part of the outcome for each other, so my heart goes out to him. I hope that he can grow.” — David Coon.

http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2010/10/29/religious-leaders-speak-on-bullying-mccance-resignation